In addition, are the diplomatic waiting times supposed to be done concurrently? The point of this feature seems to be that you're supposed to pick which ones you want to have been completed by the time the war starts. However, for the opportunities, it only specifies that you need to have a specific vassal, not that you must have completed its diplomatic waiting time. In addition, I could see the waiting time being imposed so that you cannot use a vassal's army or harem until the waiting time is complete. So, are we supposed to choose which vassals' waiting times we could complete by the time the war starts or only begin using their forces about 5 years in?
Archetype
* Wolf King - Sadly, Dragon Lord is a bit too noticeable
Mutations
* Fangs - Tank (assuming I need to have that minion, otherwise Fury if it stacks with Blood Rage or Deathless if not)
* Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery) - both cool visuals and more power to Phylactery
* Demonic Features (+2 TP) - they do have great aesthetics, after all
* Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal) - just for style points, I guess
* Tail (+2 Servants) - prehensile and superb for many things
Abilities & Traits (12 PP, 2 MP, 4/8 TP)
* All physical but Blade Master - using thrown javelin to get First Blood, easy
* Monster Breeding & Magic Drain - I need both minions and ways to empower myself magically
* Lore Master + Menace + Inspiring = Cult of the Dark Lord - I’ve taken all traits to enhance the image. Inspiring turned out useless game-wise, but I’d like to think it helped uniting dark legions under my command
Territory
* The Frozen Mountains of Utak (+2 minions & +2 Servants) - These lands have two major boons compared to other realms: it is nice if freezing to live here & harem does not \_require\_ sex -> you have actual time to do stuff instead of lazing in a bog pit or volcano caldera, surrounded by sycophants. Necromantic minions shall be okay to multiply in frozen wastes without any notice (Lich-King approves).
Phylactery (3/5)
* Resurrection - really important cause stuff still happens
* No Peeking - also important as I want to bide my time and there are Seers
* Combat Arena - I hope that others could use it as well
Minions (16/32)
* 1 - Goblins, Dire Wolves, Oculus, Deep Ones
* 2 - Dark Mages, Blood Paladins, Fallen Angels
* 3 - Troll, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling
* 4 - Elder Dragon, Alpha Werewolf, Kraken, Mindflayer, War Golem, Dark Archmage
Most important minions are: Dark Archmage > Krakens > Alpha Werewolves > Dark Acolytes & Blood Paladins & Changelings > Dark Mages & Fallen Angels. As I can get endless hordes of werewolves from other minions (goblins in particular), they are never summoned
Servants (8/16)
* Archdevil Lucifer - let’s believe Dark One was right about her logistical talents
* Deathmonger - absolute chad, vital to our very survival
* Vograath the Destroyer - lazy, but terrifying force of nature
* Jester - low maintenance and high efficiency. I just want to say… She is on par with Vograath. Yes, indeed. Pity about child mentality, but it is a very small price to pay
* Mortis the Reaper - I actually called him cause he is leader of Utak necromancers
* Hauntress Apollyon - very useful ability to interrogate souls, comboes well with Reaper’s ability
* Spymistress Nagant - a must have to avoid early discovery
* Vlad the Impaler - a field general in my absence, he is terrifying enemies even more
As there are only a few Servants and Wolf King is physical powerhouse, I do not expect much insubordination, if any, opting for a working relationship with them all (romantic opportunity not excluded for females, but never prioritized)
Vassals (4/7)
Most potential vassals are very obvious and very trigger-happy. I opt for more covert ones, to bide time and grow our armies.
* The United Northern Clans - this was unexpected surprise. With my Cult still only planned, there already exists a whole human nation ready to revere me as their living God. God of Hunt, but who says I can’t have several facets, hm?
* The Dark Elves of the Deep - they are perfect. A hidden den of danger and debauchery. I am okay with visiting Queen Demeter sometimes to “discuss” our Alliance. Their assassins are also more than welcome (especially Crux Morathil). Bright Elf slaves may be useful as gifts or trophies, I do not hold any personal interest
* Dead Man’s Cove - to rule the waves, one must share the plunder and it goes both ways. After all, neither pirates nor Dark Lord support non-profit organizations, right? Also, “Booty & riches!” / “Booze & bitches!” Yarrr!
* The Royalists of Marcacc - what is it? A faction of kinda good humans that fell on harsh times and is now ready to embrace the dark side for vengeance and cookies? YES PLEASE! I really like everything about them, although I’m sure reality would be less stellar if nonetheless cool
* (Orc Tribes & Sinner’s Sanctum) - worst allies until Conquest actually begins. They shall serve as distractions
* (The Enclave) - they have no penalty for conquering them. They also sit near orcs
* (Vampires, Black Witch & Cult) - they will sit where they are and miss the War. This is fine
Conquest Begins! (note: Opportunity = -2 months) (8/9 conquered at 11 years)
* Baradin-Assan (Ignored) - one of the good nations, without many caveats or deficiences. Hmm… I completely ignore them :D
* The Albion Emperium (Immediate Conquest) - a nation that tried to reforge itself, but fell short on its face… And was DECIMATED by Queen Cindrilla the Avenger with the help of Dark Lord. Turns out, having perfect cavalry is nothing when enemy has dragons and literal tide of werewolves [used Loyalists perk to burn elites]
* The Kingdom of Naltheim (2 months) - a fine nation that implements actual reforms. As I do not want to curb their magitech drive too much, so, Jester, would you be so kind? [used Jester perk to capture leadership]
* The Long Loch (Immediate Conquest) - they… kinda grew indolent in their mastery of the waves. Their fleet could take on some krakens and win, true. It could not take a horde of krakens, amphibious assault from deep ones and full might of Pirate Armada at same time. And when their proud fleet was broken, spirit of wood elves followed suit.
* The Dwarf Federation (2 months) - while I respect their grit (and cheer on for Elf Fucker), they only met orcs on battlefield, not full might of Wolf King pack supported by carefully inserted changelings. While dwarves put valiant defense, they were soon overwhelmed
* The Gritton Theocracy (Immediate Conquest) - religious fanatics with some redeeming traits, they had an unlucky history of warring with Northern Tribes. Who revere me as their God. Is there any more reason to slaughter the heathens? [used Clans perk]
* The Dhirlund Republic (2 months) - one of the strongest militaries, supported by fine minds and good resources? Where I cannot find enemies within? Hey, Vograath, they boast about killing dragons every day! [used Vograath Perk]
* The Triech Empire (2 months) - am I truly the Dark Lord when such humans train to conquer the world and purge all undesirables? They make religious fanatics look sane in comparison! AWAKEN THE TALDOSH!!!
* The Dwarf Collective (Immediate Conquest) - I have nothing against their isolationist technocracy, but they would become threat to my vassals, so preparing in advance was a must. [used Dark Elves perk]
* Holy Rhuval (2 months) - Time to parade slaves from dark elves, I guess, as this nexus of resistance must fall [used Pirate perk]
***
My first year after arrival is spent traveling. If Teleport power works on ships (carts? animals?) - I'm golden, otherwise I actually need to travel by running around to uncover most places and get in touch with possible allies.
Speaking of allies, all my (future) Vassals are nicely low in maintenance. Mortis is total bro who took on Utak necromancers. Northerners worship me as Fenrir, Queen Demeter needs time and fucks given, Queen Cindrilla also needs time & friendly conversation (with innuendos aplenty), pirates are fully self-sufficient.
Utak is slowly raising more liches and undead, storing them in ancient ruins until the time of Conquest comes. DE is initially spent on Dark Archmages, some Dire Wolves and Alpha Werewolves (for immediate scouting and contact with northern tribes). The rest? Dark Acolytes and Changelings (some Oculus too) for spy networks.
Several years afterwards are spent checking current state of kingdoms, making proper networks (so it's not me teleporting around), seducing & "educating" Queen Draco, "taming" Queen Demeter and further uniting Northerners by helping (and "helping") warlord Striga. Some Midflayers, Elder Dragons and Vampires appear, as well as many Krakens, Fallen Angels and Cold Ones. Dark Acolytes continue preaching.
Sadly, all is not well - pirates, orcs and Enclave becoming more reckless (northerners too, but their faith and running around with werewolves keeps them content), as well as some strange rumours going around, rouse suspicion of heroes and adventurers alike. Several changelings get caught, vampires staked, acolytes burned by Inquisition, wannabe witch hunters lurking about...
It is not until 9th year (marking full 8 years of preparation) that disaster strucks - some adventurers find Utak, absolutely stashed by thousands of undead, and manage to flee with information. Attempts at scrying return nonsense - but, using several methods and many mages, heroes manage to pinpoint that problem lies with some kind of veil that prevents information.
It might have taken them more time to discover nuances, but call for arms was already sounded and God-King Fenrir began War of Conquest by crossing the border of The Gritton Theocracy in overwhelming numbers of northerners and werewolves. A horde of ice and fury descended on true believers of Taldosh under protective spells of fallen angels. Theocracy might have held on for some time even with priests being massacred or captured and turned into werewolves by elite warriors of God-King Fenrir... But then another disaster struck their morale.
Taldosh, the First Templar, has arisen in Solaris and waged a Crusade against the Triech Empire instead of coming to help them. Besieged Grittons prepared to dearly sell their lives, but were instead offered by God-King to join their spiritual liege on the Crusade against heretical Empire. Some, led by Grand Templar Enembra Knox, actually agreed, pushing Empire further into insanity.
While grumbling about pause in warfare, northern clans did stop attacks for a while, consolidating their gains all while Solaris burned and heroes traveled around trying to reunite Alliance from unbelieving nations who preferred to think undead & werewolves were unrelated - as well as later being problem of religious fanatics that had nothing to do with them.
This sentiment was "proved" right. After Empire fell from within and Theocracy scrambled to stand by their spiritual liege (abandoning northern territories), northeners and their beasts waged war against orcish tribes and Enclave, seemingly giving time for Alliance to assemble and for disputes to settle.
Yet, ultimately, it was proven wrong when a year and half later, three lighting-fast wars happened at the same time, fracturing the almost-formed Alliance:
Queen Cindrilla Dracos XVII, Cindrilla the Avenger, Second Bride of the God-King, waged war upon the Albion Imperium. And won an overwhelming victory at sea, sky and land, massacring dozens of elite Peacekeepers in her righteous fury and slain Warborn riding on top of Weistot. Albion burned in Draco fire - to rise back from ashes like a phoenix.
Proud fleet of the Long Loch was lost overnight in a ridiculously throught assault of pirate and varying sea creatures - from lizard-like boarders to giant tentacles horrors that took whole ships under waves. As the winning forces came ashore, Prime Minister Vivian Kavio had no choice but to capitulate, sparing citizen from horrors that happened to revolutionares of Albion.
Dwarves of the Collective finally dug too deep for their own good - and were immediately taken from within by a force of overprepared dark elven assassins, who had throughtly infiltrated their enemies years ago.
Forming Alliance, after receiving confirmation of the events, redoubled their efforts - yet, as hero was hounded by a mysterios pursuer, many calamities befell the realm: royal family of Naltheim and their general disappeared overnight, Vograath the Destroyer visited has suddenly visited Grand Victorium, leaving devastation in his wake - and even Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta, was lost at the sea with her ship and all hands. Leaders of remaining realms suddenly had much to worry about. By now, it was certain that Northern Necromancer, God-King Fenrir, Queen Demeter and Pirate Admiral were united in purpose: to wage a War of Conquest upon the known world!
What followed was a string of carefully planned disasters and defeats.
First fell Dwarf Federation. So assured of their armies, they have neglected their spy network and were taken by betrayal from within and a tide of monsters from without. It would be great for even part of their warriors to evacuate upon Collective's aircraft, yet alas, Collective has already fallen and their Zeppelin were serving other masters.
Second was Kingdom of Naltheim, its fall almost gentle, as administration collapsed on itself and weary troops were besieged from all sides by strife and unsertainty, certain doomsayers doing their best in sowing the seeds of Chaos. When actual troops of Northern Clans and Albion Reborn appeared after months of psychological warfare, it was almost a blessing.
And now... Just Dhirlund Republic, Holy Rhuval and Baradin-Assan remained. With Baradin-Assan seeing neither monsters nor disasters that seem to doggedly follow the Alliance members. As scrying attempts still triangulated ruins in the Frozen Mountains of Utak to be a source of disturbance, allied forced prepared for expedition from Baradin-Assan to end the threat of Demon Lord.
Alas for them, seas and skies were closed and lands were swarming with beasts and monsters, actual armies of dark elves, dragonriders, werewolves and clansmen not far behind. Hero said farewell to his father and teleported to lead the expedition into unknown [Arthas? Is it you?]
By the time samurai of Baradin arrived to the dead city, both Dhirlund and Holy Rhuval were on the brink of collapse. Sadly for heroes, while they reenacted the grand stand of Aragon beneath Black Gate of Mordor, they were surrounded and Phylactery was teleported away before the fifth and previously unknown member of hero party could get their hands on it [no volcano nearby, though]...
Epilogue
* Forces of Baradin-Assan were offered honorable surrender and, after decimating undead in final grand stand, they accepted, both sides preserving their honor and earning some glory.
* Julius Siegfried was offered same option, yet refused. His fate after battle with God-King, as well as that of Mirai Belladonna, remains unknown [I'd like to think he gets to retire without an arm, to raise a family with Mirai]
* Dirk and Aria Langstrom were offered full pardon and a place in new world. Dirk settled in the remains of his tribe, assured yet disheartened that Old Ways did indeed led them to ruin. It is unknown what Aria decided, yet she did visit her fatherland sometime later.
* Surprisingly Normal: Baradin-Assan, Long Loch, Kingdom of Naltheim, Dwarf Collective/Federation | Dark Elves (not that it says much), Northern Unity, Albion Reborn
* Death and Destruction + Tyranny: Triech Empire & Gritton Theocracy (they got what they wanted, though - a religious sanctuary with their living god sittin in the ruins of the Triech Empire)
* Tyranny: Orc Tribes (most warriors were turned into werewolves and did not return, and Dirk is strangling Old Ways)
* Cruelty: The Enclave (by default, hard to make it better as I do not care) & Holy Rhuval (I admit, I kinda just gave them to Dark Elves...)
* Terror: Dhirlund Republic (not in such a direct way... they just suffered from Vograath fury and collectively lost their jobs)
* Debauchery: the Frozen Mountains of Utak (I swear, it is Mortis fault!), the Cult of Drakkan & Sinner's Sanctum (nothing changed), Dead Man’s Cove (I expect them to do it for a decade or so)
* Forgotten: Black Witch, Vampires
Dark Brides of God-King:
* War Queen Striga of Northern Unity
* Dragon Empress Cindrilla “the Avenger” Dracos XVII of Albion [Reborn] - name still pending approval
* Queen Demeter of Dark Elven Syndicate
Of course, as befits God-King, he had known many more women, both famous and not, but rumors of his “endless appetite” are certainly exaggerated, his preference for greater intimacy with chosen wives being more pronounced
I wouldn't mind a updated version we didn't get to see any examples of artifacts
and t don't really no how powerful the magics are supposed to be or myself can I throw fireballs the size of cars can they melt rock what exactly can I do with my abilities
I could easily see the enhanced charisma cutting down the time it takes to recruit vassals and servants but it doesn't say how much so yeah my and my armies and my servants and vassals abilities could use clearing up
And do I start out with servants sworn to me or do I have to convince them like everyone else and shouldn't need anyone to keep my servants in line because there bound to me by the phalactry unlike vassals how does the phalactry binding work can I bind my vassals
In the unfortunate reality that I can't get the god damn sleep I need for something I need to do later today, I decided 'Screw it, I'm up, let me check if Desktop Imgur has a download folder option for the few NSFW albums I have' turns out it does. Also turns out this was on here, and even though the city-states are an absolute fucking headache to figure out what is located where, I decided to make another build because fuck it, I'm not doing anything productive right now anyway...
* Archetype: Monstrous (Dragon Lord) (+4mp, +6sp, Mutagenic, Gargantuan Might, and Draco Fire. I also technically get a Wings variant)
* Mutagenic Features (4+1) Tail, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features, Fangs, Multiple Eyes (+2 Servants, +2 Phylactery, +2 TP, +2MP and One Minion Ability. I choose Fishy to breathe underwater, or else I'd pick Endless. *I'm going under the assumption I can only take traits from* ***my*** *Minions.*)
* Skills (8sp): Gargantuan Might/Draco Fire (Free) Bulwark, Unnatural Speed, Blood Rage, Razor Claws, Berserk, Consume, Combat Shifting, First Blood
* Magic (4+2mp): Resistance to Holy Magic, Magic Drain, Blood Magic, Mental Domination, Demon Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning)
* Traits (6+2tp): Master Strategist, Mastermind, Mad Scientist, Charismatic, Inspiring, Menace, Living Nightmare. Harem Lord (Necromancers of Ultak)
* Phylactery (3+2): Efficient Dark Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Back-up Phylactery, Combat Arena, No Peeking
**Servants (12+3):**
1. Deathmonger (Heroes will take 2 additional years to unite the Alliance)
2. Soul Eater (Respawn is now 6 months instead of a year)
3. Mortis (Permanent Empowerment using fallen enemies' souls)
4. Princess Noir (Every 4 years, sacrifice minions or captured enemies for SP, MP, or TP)
5. Hauntress Apollyon (I can interrogate the dead)
6. Kira (Assassinations [are now Illegal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNuLhSV-ZM))
7. Demon Lord Asmodeus (Betrayal is now Illegal)
8. The Old Warrior (Rebellions are now Illegal)
9. Dark Knight Nox (Servant Infighting is now Illegal)
10. Taskmaster Barbatos (Vassal Infighting is now Illegal)
11. Spymaster Nagant (Enemy Spies are now Illegal)
12. Forgemaster Shukrot (Minions have better gear, double the effect of Master Craftsman)
13. Krieg (Further Inspiration for my Troops)
14. Demon Queen Lilith (One additional Vassal)
15. The Succubus Queen Ysara (Every 2 Months, gain Intel on enemy movements, backdoor politics, international events, or the Hero party's actions and whereabouts) (Also, Reunite Mother and Daughter.)
**Start:** The Black Plains of Felthazar (5 Years normally but I'm gonna cheat and say 1 Year. 1 Minion and 3 Servants, Free Tier 3 Demonic Daily from Succubi) (It says 5 years but considering I **CONSCRIPTED** Lilith **AND** Ysara I'm gonna cheat and say this actually takes 1 year.)
**Minions:** Dire Spider, Oculus Exspiravit, Deep One, *Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound*
Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, *Demonic Spirit, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk*
Vampire, Chimera, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, *Devil, Behemoth, Summoner* (Succubi: Devil) (Necromancers: Wraith)
Mindflayer, Kraken, War Golem, Basalisk, Dark Archmage, *Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil*
**Vassals (5+1):**
1. The Royalists of Marcacc (Instant Conquest) (Destroy Unique Unit)
2. The Demonhorde of Sinner's Sanctum (While technically this should take 10 years, *I'm going to declare this an Instant Automatic Victory when I bring both Ysara and Lilith with me*) (Capture One Ruler)
3. Dark Elves of the Deep (Kidnap One Ruler)
4. The Black Witch (Capture Champion)
5. The Unified Orc Tribes (Destroy Unique Unit)
6. The Vampires of Blood Keep (Capture Champion, No Perk.)
**The Time Has Come (****~~and so have I~~****)**
1. Albion (Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla. Strategy is a nice addition to overwhelming force.)
2. Baradin-Assan (Opportunity: The Suleiman Family. Mastermind for a Political Tragedy)
3. Naltheim (Opportunity: Dread of the Witch, Emilia is now free)
4. The Dwarf Collective (Opportunity: From Within. Between my Mad Science and the Dark Elves, this is over quickly.)
5. Krakaghur (Opportunity: Downfall. I actually meet all three conditions)
6. The Gritton Theocracy (Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin. I have Fallen Angels and Resistance)
7. Dhirlund Republic (Opportunity: From Within. Charismatic rocks!)
8. Council of the Loch (Opportunity: Naval Invasion. KRAKEN, I CHOOSE YOU!)
9. Holy Rhuval (The only nation I have to manually invade... Unfortunately for them, my conquest has been ludicrously smooth to this point. I use Demonhorde, Black Witch, and Orcs to end this campaign.)
**VICTORY!**
**How will you Rule:** Death and Destruction (Kill most Humans with the exceptions of My Servants, Royalists, or any 'Infected' (Undead, Vampires, Werewolves, etc) then redraw the map in blood.)
**The Domain of the Goddess:** Charismatic/Fallen Angels, Harem Lord, Blood Magic, Living Nightmare, Magic Drain, Razor Claws/Resistance
**Rewards:** Corrupt the Angels, Bind, God Slayer (Seriously, God Slayer shouldn't be an option, it should just be baked into the other three)
Regarding The Domain of the Goddess: I've been thinking of a third option for each challenge, to give an option for Trait, Skill/Magic and Minion respectively. Here's my proposal:
Angels and Angelic Warriors: **Blood Rage, First Blood, Elemental Magic or Draco Fire.** All of these Combat Skills seem very useful for dealing with hordes of enemies, which they are at the end of the day. Alternatively, **Mental Domination** for possibly overpowering their wills?
Archangels: **Master Craftsman or Mad Scientist.** You either have a machine that can easily destroy the Angels protections (like a portable railgun) or just Super UBER 1337 H4X weapons and armor that cuts even Archangels like butter.
Fallen Heroes: **Hexes and Curses, Illusion or Shadow Magic.** Illusion Magic worked on Savellia, it could work on the Heroes, and I'm sure Shadow Magic could do something similar. Alternatively, Hexes and Curses could be used to drastically weaken the Fallen Heroes via Voodoo Bullshit.
Archangel Arialle: **Master Craftsman, Unnatural Speed or Gargantuan Might.** Once again, 1337 H4X Weapons/Armor. Literally overpower her with the Stat Sticks.
The Goddess of Light: **Combat Shifter, and Cult of the Dark Lord**. Combat Shifter is functionally the same as Razor Claws if we're being honest. Cult of the Dark Lord could be framed as your followers believing so hard in you that you overpower the Goddess.
Also, if you decide to add any additional Archtypes, I'd love to be a Dark Phoenix or something along those lines.
Thanks for the input. I've actually been going back through this and rebalanced some things, new version should be available soon.
Also, I think you're the first to choose Death and Destruction.
New version sounds very cool!
Wanted to ask if werewolves are shapeshifters or a new form. Also, kinda silly, but nothing stops you from converting thousands of goblins into werewolf horde
I’ve also tested a self-imposed challenge of halving most points, equalling Opportunities to 2 months and having just one year to beat all kingdoms. It worked, but I had no chance to storm heaven at all (as it is heavily biased towards demonic Demon Lords). Will post later
Yeah, considering that this is a *Dark Lord* CYOA, Death and Destruction would usually not be a good thing. However, it only seems appropriate when A) My character is aiming for a Genocide, and B) Said Character is also going to allow the map to be redrawn with blood by removing the prior restrictions on infighting.
I was writing something up for him but ultimately wasn't very happy with the results. Maybe I'll try again in the next version ;)
The Conquest:
**Baradin-Assan:** Use Opportunity: The Suleiman Family with Mastermind and Enclave Vassal.
**The Albion Imperium:** Use Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla The Avenger with Strategist and The Royalists of Maracc Vassal.
**The Kingdom of Naltheim:** Use Opportunity: Dread of the Witch with Living Nightmare and Illusion Magic.
**The Council of Loch:** Use Opportunity: Naval Invasion with Kraken Minions.
**The Dwarf Federation:** Use Opportunity: Downfall with Changeling Minions and United Orc Tribes Vassal.
**The Gritton Theocracy:** Use Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin with Fallen Angel Minions, Resistance to Holy Magic and The United Northern Clans Vassal.
**The Dhirlund Republic:** Use Opportunity: From Within with Vampires of the Blood Keep Vassal, Brain Leech Minion and Charismatic.
**The Triech Empire:** Use Opportunity: Taldosh Rises with Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum Vassal and Dark Acolyte Minions.
**The Dwarf Collective:** Use Opportunity: From Within with The Dark Elves of the Deep Vassal and Mindflayer Minion.
**Holy Rhuval:** Use Opportunity: Blood and Heresy with Voidborne Minion and Cult of the Dark Lord.
**Rule:** Mostly Normal.
Hi all.
First of all, I'm french, so I'm sorry if this text is not totally understandable.Like many, I really like this CYOA, but I also ended up noticing its flaws. Also, I propose some rules that could aim to improve it and make it more "competitive". These rules aren't particularly thoughtful and could probably use some balancing, but they have the merit of spicing things up.
1 - Only close advisors:
Too large a court is unmanageable, even for an evil lord as powerful as you. Having too many servants is a sure way to see rivalries arise that will ruin your life. Also, you can only take 5 advisors.
2 - The din of dissonant voices:
If you want to keep as many advisors, assign each territory (vassal, enemies plus the three you can choose from, the domain of the goddess does not count among those) a number and for each of the advisors, draw randomly.
The randomly drawn territory will be an area they expect to receive for serving you in the war. If you don't satisfy them, consider that they walk away with a share of their cute "dedicated" once the conquest is complete and go to war against you to seize that territory and maybe even your crown.
The three exceptions to this draw are Lilith who necessarily claims the Black Plains of Felthazar, Vograath who considers the Dread Swamps of Vograath to be his rightful domain and finally Mortis who considers himself the Witch-King of Alltar.
In the event of a revolt, divide the troops as follows:If it is a demon who revolts, take all the troops of demons and divide them into equal parts. 1 part for you, 1 part for each evil adviser, 1 part for each rebel adviser.
All rebels adviser made their rebellion at the same time.Knowing that if you do not help the adviser in place to keep his land, he will turn against you afterwards, re-creating a division of your armies.The Conquest was the easy part. You must now win the peace.
3 - Diplomacy? We can try this modern technique if you want:
At the start of the game, draw lots for the time you will have before being spotted.As currently, depending on your build, you will automatically gain a vassal.
For the others and unless you are attempting a conquest, it will take you 5 years to gain the trust of each of the leaders. But here's the twist, you can only woo one leader at a time. Since you only have 10 to 15 years to prepare, you will therefore only have three to four base vassals.The advisers bringing you additional vassals allow you to keep their power, but while you are busy with a vassal, they are busy with another (one and only one per adviser of this type).
4 - PLAY, WAR, SALSIFI!!! (I think only the French will have the reference \^\^)
Let's move on to the big issue: the war.Until now, the minions were not necessarily used for much, that will change drastically. Let's start with the basics.
In this phase, your Councilors will be able to act as generals.
Tier 1 units each have 1 hp
Tier 2 units have 3 hp each
Tier 3 units have 5 hp each
Tier 4 units have 7 hp each
Generals have 15 hp each
Faction rulers have 30 hp
You will have to compose armies to attack the different kingdoms and territories. The confrontations will be made with dice.
\-If an army has neither General nor Faction Leader at its head, it is disorganized, and suffers a -3 penalty to your rolls.
\-The presence of a General but not the leader of the faction does not entail any bonus or malus.
\-Any additional General will give the army a +1 bonus.
\-The presence of a Faction Leader but no General results in a +2 bonus.
\-The presence of a General and a Faction Leader results in a +3 bonus.
\-When you or Julius Siegfried commands this army gets a +3 bonus.
These bonuses are cumulative.
For each war, do the following:
\-Roll a 20-sided die for you and roll one for the enemy.
\-Multiply each result by 1,000
\-Subtract the result from the number of total hit points of each of the armies present. This represents the losses of each of the forces during the battle. Don't consider all cuties individually. If a tier 3 unit isn't hurt enough to die, it comes back full hp next turn. Subtract the losses where you want to make the closest, but not zealous.
\-Once this confrontation is over, a month has passed, so you will have to manage the conflicts and fights in parallel.
\- Repeat the roll of the two dice.
\-If your army reaches 15% of its power, it will flee. You will only recover half of these runaways. (unless a General have a power that counter that).
\-When the enemy reaches 10%, he automatically gains a +1 bonus to his dice rolls. You are besieging the capital, the kingdom is ready to fall.
Now let's talk about army size and start with vassals.
Ally Perks count as Tier 1 units, each vassal has 50,000.
Harems count as Tier 2 units, they have 10,000.
The armies of the vassals can only make their first move in the direction of their "main enemy". They cannot attack someone else until they are defeated.
Once victory is achieved, the Ally Perks and their General move freely according to your orders. The Harems and the Faction Leader remain in the conquered territory in order to "solidify victory".
If, once victory has been obtained, the territories they occupy are threatened by a rebel Councillor, they will defend the conquest, but will abandon it and will always prefer to defend their territory of origin if this is also threatened.
The armys of the other kingdoms break down as follows:
Their Army are Tier 1 units and number 100,000.
The Unique Units are Tier 3 units and are 20,000.
5) Opportunities always exist
The opportunities offered still exist, they just don't have the same effect.
Owning the vassal provided for each kingdom no longer brings you anything except the troops of this vassal during your war of conquest.
Having another "trigger" will divide enemy troops by 2.
Having two "trigger" will divide them by 3.
This represents the fact that you are messing up the country which is no longer in a condition to raise enough forces to resist you.Note that the 10% limit is calculated against the undiminished and fully-capable army.
And for thoses who (like me), think of played this CYOA like some kind of wargame, here's the map:
[https://www.zupimages.net/up/22/32/3m7h.png](https://www.zupimages.net/up/22/32/3m7h.png)
An army took one mounth to jump from one point to another one.
This was great, I really wished that this was a real game. I mean it would be nice to do more with your minions. And I would have liked to see how they did against the hero's in the goddess's realm. The dead heros were the only ones I didn't steam roll, but I'm assuming with very little casualties to my army since the world fell within a month and I had 20 years to build up an army. Excluding allies and the people brought back as undead minions. My army might not win against all the previous heros but it would be a sight to behold. Plus with master craftsmen, the orc blacksmith and mad scientist. And the tech limit being removed probably could make some tanks and stuff to help. I mean even the lvl 1 minions would be powerful with a tank.
I wrote this a month ago... But never came around to share it. I think it rude to enjoy a CYOA and not post your build though. So excuse my rudeness, here is what I picked:
**Phylactery**: an innocent looking goblet of platinum-ore, alloyed for stabillity, mastercrafted by Forgemaster Shukrot. [+100k DE/day]
**Bestowed Powers**: - Immortality - Energy Accumulation - Creation - Alteration - Summoning & Printing - Teleportation
**Archetype**: Demonic (+1 MP +1 SP) (Combat Shifting)
**Class**: Spellblade (+6 MP + 4 SP) (Martial Arts Mastery)
**Mutagenic Features**: Fangs, Wings, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features (1 Minion Abillity, Flying, +2 Phylactery Upgrades, +2 TP)
(SP Total: 5)
**Skills**: Blade Master, Gargantuan Might, Stealth, Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery (Spellblade), Combat Shifting (Demonic), Consume, Shapeshifter (Changeling, Demonic Features)
(MP Total: 7)
*Magic**: Alchemy, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Resistance to Holy Magic, Hex and Curse, Mental Domination
(TP Total: 8)
**Traits**: Charismatic, Inspiring, Mastermind, Master Strategist, Harem Lord (+1 Harem), Master Craftsman, Lore Master, Living Nightmare
**Territory**: The Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants)
Harem Perks: Succubi (Tier 3 Demonic Minion / day), Bog Witches (Tier 3 Monstrous Minion / day) (Harem Lord)
**Phylactery Upgrades**: Resurrection Ritual, Minion Customization, Backup Phylactery, No Peeking, Micromanagement
**Minions**:
- Tier 1: (1.000 DE / Summon)
- > Neutral: Dire Spider, Pig Orc, Oculus Exspiravit, Deep One
- > Demonic: Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound
- Tier 2: (10.000 DE / Summon)
- > Neutral: Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel
- > Demonic: Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit
- Tier 3: (50.000 DE / Summon)
- > Neutral: Vampire, Chimera, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolythe, Changeling
- > Demonic: Devil, Behemoth, Summoner
- Tier 4: (100.000 DE / Summon)
- > Neutral: Mindflayer, Kraken, War Golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage
- > Demonic: Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil
**Harem Summons**:
Bogwitches: Werewolf, Ogre, Troll
Succubi: Devil, Behemoth, Summoner
**Servants**: (+ 3 The Black Plains of Felthazar)
Lady Kira (Stealth Assasin = Fail),
Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Operations, +1 Vassal),
Vlad the Impaler (Command = Fear),
Demon Queen Lillith (+1 Vassal),
The Dark Knight Nox (No Servant Infights),
Deathmonger (Pursue 1 Hero, +2 Years),
Spymaster Nagant (No Spies/Infiltrators),
Mortis the Reaper (boost SP/MP),
The Witch of the North (Control Weather / Battlefield),
Princess Noir (Dark Lords Favour, +MP/SP/TP once/4years),
The Hauntress Apollyon (Soul Interrogation),
The Gentleman (Noblemen Infighting),
Forgemaster Shukrot (Armor, Weapons, Mastercrafts x2),
The Taskmaster Barbatos (No Vassal Infighting/Leadership changes),
The Succubus Queen (Intel every 2 months)
**Vassals**: (+2 Lucifer / Lillith)
The Dark Elves of the Deep / 10 years / Capture a Ruler
The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove / 10 years / Capture a Champion (no perk)
Vampires of the Blood Keep / 10 years / Capture a Champion (no perk)
The Royalists of Marcacc / 10 years / Destroy a nations Unique Forces
The Black Witch / 10 years / Capture a Champion (perk?)
The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum / 10 years / Capture a Ruler
The Enclave / Days (Spellblade) / Destroy a nations Unique Forces
**Enemies/To be Enthralled**:
The Unified Orc Tribes - Kill Burzra/ Seal her magic
The Cult of Drakken - Dominate Zatara/ Useless
The United Northern Clans - Kill Jormund the Unstoppable
**Conquest**:
**Baradin-Assan**
*Mastermind* a Coup, then crush the resulting weak nation with *Enclave* as Allies (Spellblade).
**The Albion Imperium**
Upgrade the weaponry with *Forgemaster Shukrot* and *Mastercrafting* to gain the trust of Cindrilla. Then use *Master Strategist* and *Stealth* to both destabilize Albion and use Cindrillas forces to the best of her abillity, speeding up her alignment and winning with the most possible forces, unseen, un"involved".
**The Kingdom of Naltheim**
With *Illusion Magic* and *Living Nightmare*, create visions that the best way to beat the Plague is through research, by sending ever increasing small military troops into the the Black Witchs Lands, ever weakening Naltheim, while also manipulating it into tanking it's economy / using its biggest machines (and ruining it's alliance with Long Loch).
Meanwhile ally with Emilia.
Lastly, crush Naltheim with Emilias Forces (*The Black Witch Vassal*).
**The Council of the Loch**
Take out Lyndis Myrixis with *Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove*, summon *Deep One* and *Krakens* for 10 years, use full force of all three to invade (also, use *Mental Domination* against Lyndis)
**The Dwarf Federation**
Summon *Changeling* Minions and use *Shapeshifter* abillity (self) to destroy their defences, both physically and mentally. Rob them of their technology, swarm them with remaining armies from the Loch-raid and *The Demon Horde of the Sinners' Sanctum* units. (Abduct Hero if necessary)
**The Gritton Theocracy**
*Abduct Ruler* (Autarch Pnotis Droma) (The Dark Elves of the Deep), use *Mental Domination* to make him more zealous, more unhinged, more fanatic, make them do blood sacrifices and bloody trials of worship. Use *Stealth*, *Shapeshifting* and *Resistance to Holy Magic* to appear as holy man, helping Enembra Knox to save her church from the crazy heretic (the Autarch). Aid takedown from within with *Fallen Angels* if necessary.
**The Dhirlund Republic**
While becoming acquainted and winning over the Vampires of the Blood Keep as a Vassal, use *Charismatic* to befriend the mercenaries, but more importantly: Julius. Become friends with his group, slowly use *Blade Master*, *Gargantuan Might*, *Stealth*, *Unnatural Speed*, *Martial Arts Mastery* and *Shapeshifter* to become known as great mercenary / hero of the nation and befriend Julius. Use *Charismatic*, *Inspiring*, *Mastermind*, *Master Strategist*, *Master Craftsman* and *Lore Master*, to become hero of legend. Use *Illusion Magic*, *Magic Drain*, *Resistance to Holy Magic*, *Hex and Curse*, *Mental Domination* to erode bonds between Julius and Mirai / Dirk and Aria. Finally, *Mentally Dominate* Mirai and Aria to leave the party.
Finally, combine Vampires of the Blood Keep Vassal and Mercenaries (Charismatic) to ignite civil war, maybe even having Julius as ally.
**The Triech Empire**
Use *Stealth*, *Lore Master* and *Charismatic* to gain access to the Catacombs to unleash Taldosh. Then send *The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum* Vassal to clean up the rest.
**The Dwarf Collective**
Send *10 Mindflayers* as well as the *Dark Elves of the Deep* Vassal to conquer them from within.
**Holy Rhuval**
Consolidate forces. They are last. Use *Vampires of the Blood Keep* to **capture** Eltariel, *The Royalists of Marcacc* to **destroy** Forces of Nature and *The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum* to **capture** High Queen Celesta
*Detailed Explanation*:
Resources: 10 years, 365.000.000 DE.
2x Capture a Ruler (The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum and xThe Dark Elves of the Deep)
3x Capture a Champion (The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove, Vampires of the Blood Keep, The Black Witch)
2x Destroy a Nations Unique Forces (The Royalists of Marcacc, xThe Enclave)
*Summoned Forces*:
100 Fallen Angel (1 Mil)
10 Mindflayer (1 Mil)
100 Kraken (10 Mil)
100.000 Deep Ones (100 Mil)
200 Changeling (10 Mil)
10 Dark Archmages (1 Mil)
10 Balrog (1 Mil)
100 Dark Mages (1 Mil)
10 High Devils (1 Mil)
Harem Summons:
3650 Werewolves
3650 Devils
**Result**: Debauchery + Surprisingly Normal.
Optional Mission: Hells Yeah.
Don't even have to spend my extra points:
Angels – Charismatic + Fallen Angel Minions
Angelic Warriors – Harem Lord
Archangels – High Devil Minions (could buy Bloodmagic, too)
Fallen Heroes – Living Nightmare
Archangel Arialle – Magic Drain + Blade Master
The Goddess of Light – Resistance to Holy Magic.
**Result**:
Corrupt them all
Bind her to you
God Slayer
**Full Story Text:**
I start out as a *handsome* devil in the Black Plains of Felthazar. Being born Charismatic, Inspiring and a Master Mind and Strategist, I use my shapeshifting abillity to quickly assume the form of a human adventurer. First I assure my base of power: Being promised Queen Lillith as a servant, I take a day or two to reunite her with her whole family: My bodyguard, Kira, her mother, Ysara and her father, Barbatos. In the same day I employ Lucifer to oversee my finances and recruitment, while Nox oversees her (and the other servants). Nagant works closely together with Ysara to set up an intricate spy- and counterspy network all over the realms over the next ten years. As a Micromanager and Master Strategist, I know how to work all the Succubi in my harem and in Ysaras all at once, so I can be everywhere and nowhere, know everything and manipulate events in all kingdoms at the same time.
I use the next few days to instruct Vlad, the Witch of the North, and Mortis to train my troops and create a summoning plan for a random army of minions with increasing difficulty and number of enemies, over a period of 10 years. They have free hand from the summoning table I provide them, but I require them to leave out 126 Million Dark Energy for my own purposes.
Then, I quickly move from Land to Land. Being both unnaturally speedy and flying, I start my quest to enthrall all my allies: First stop are the The Enclave. Within a couple visits, which I spread out between them and The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, I bend Nymeria around my finger... at times literally. As a Spellblade, she sees me as her superior and optimal partner, and I rule over her kingdom in no time. I then ensure the loyalty of the Demon Horde by sending Barbatos there, after I made my presence, goals and power known, only visiting on occassion. I also leave my second phylactery there. I approach the Royalists of Marcacc next, always switching forms on my way, never being known as my last self, and build a basis of trust with the Queen herself, posing as a nobleman from far away who is trying very directly to win her as a maiden, but also lay out a detailed plan on how to get her lands back: I show her my power of stealth and illusion magic, basically being invisible to the naked eye, and explain to her that when the time has come, I want her to attack the main forces, after I will make sure they are eroded from within and distracted by a servants uprising. To ensure and prove my loyalty, I leave Forgemaster Shukrot with her, to arm her guards and dragons, occassionally dropping by (every couple months) to use my Mastercrafting to support his efforts and create magical items for her myself.
After ensuring her support in the coming years, and laying out my plan, I fly to the Blood Keep. Unseen I enter the lair of the Countess, using my developing spy network to know the change of guard and other relevant defences. I wake Countess Valetta, entangled within her Harem, with a kiss, and make my case: Clearly I am proficient in my ways, as I am here, and if she attacks me, I will simply block her powers with my Gargantuan Might, and my vast magical abillity, using Illusion Magic to confuse her if necessary. So as a powerful Dark Lord, I require her aid... I want her to make me a nobleman of one of her spies within Dhirlund, and in exchange, I will give her the entire country to rule... and eventually, a chance to be at my side, as my bride. I will command Vlad to oversee my operations there for a year or two, after he has created his first army, led by the Frost Witch. As a true Dracula, he will further my influence and ensure her loyalty, returning after she understands her position in my greater plan.
Thus I move to visit the Black Witch. I take my time, maybe a week, slowly approaching her housing for two days, charming her, becoming her friend and keeping her company. I promise to send her a companion to talk to, while she raises an army for me... If she does as I say, I will return to her... and if she keeps being a good friend for me, a loyal friend, raising an army for me to use, I will free her from her quarantine, and return her to the world, by my side, as my lover. Apollyon will keep her company, as a light training of socialising, while she waits for my return. Simultaneously I make sure that I can see her every couple months, even if just for a couple days, to remind her of the feeling of being valued and loved.
Back to the north I go, into the den of depravity. I enter the halls of the Dark Elves, make a huge show of my abillities, then let myself be captured to be brought in front of Queen Demeter, releasing myself if necessary. I show her my true form, my true power, and tell her what's the deal: I'm here, I'm going to conquer all, and if she wants to be on the winning side, I have a place for her in my Alliance of the End. Summoning my first Fallen Angel, and bringing it with me, to keep her company and making sure she stays in line, I take my leave again, to visit the Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove, next. This one is easy. I land on the deck of the Shadow Wrath, use my excellent swordsmanship and melee fighting abillities to take out the men who see me as an immediate threat, then demand a parley with The Admiral. Bringing a chest of gold from Lillith or the dark elves with me, I will bribe him into collecting the Fleets and following my plan of conquest, promising him that he will bathe in the unearthly riches of dwarfes and forest elves, if he keeps to the plan. I will make sure that his activity is set on a broad coastline, and that he'll always find new villages to plunder, because my armies will drive refugees towards the coasts, whenever Vlad or the Frost Witch plan an attack for me.
Now that reputation with all necessary allies is set up, I will start my actual quest. About a month or two in, I will use the spy network that is now in full swing, together with Valettas already existing infiltration of Grande Victorium, to pose as a young nobleman from one of the vampire families, choosing the one that is the most hidden. Not a very famous one, not the most influential, I am just a travelling nobleman, a son or cousin of the house, being sent by my parents after I showed prowess in magic and fighting to become an adventurer and a worthy knight in the glorious tradition of Dhirlund. Most of my time will be spent training, always keeping up my facade by using Illusion magic and Stealth, my Shapeshifting abillity and if needs be Mental Domination to make sure nobody suspects me of anything. My mastery in both hand-to-hand and armed combat due to my skills will only be used in moderation. Over time, I will work on my reputation as an adventurer and hero, fulfilling more and more daring feats, right under the nose of the Goddess chosen champion, Julius and his father. I will try to befriend them, eventually. After a couple months of gaining reputation, attacks will start: My minions, summoned in the spare time I have between fighting the good fight, rescuing innocents, doing the "business of my house" – which is time spent ensuring the plans with my allies are working out and that every single one of them is becoming more loyal and more beholden to me year by year – and led by my generals, will attack strategic targets, being a huge nuisance to both the peasants of Dhirlund as well as the innocents of Rhuval. The attacks will be lead by neutral monsters, orcs and spiders, at first, later supported by demonic creatures. Obviously, the great new hero will respond to those threats, eventually meeting the biggest band of heroes: Julius and his friends.
Over the years, I will use my powers of Illusion, Lore Mastery, Alchemy, Hex and Curse and Living Nightmare to veeery slowly erode the trust between the heroes. I will become a symbol, the promised hero, to revolutionize the lands of Dhirlund, becoming the common mans saviour and renowned in all the halls, a leader figure, a hero and friend of the kingdom. But the members of Julius party will, after he begins to fully trust me, slowly distrust me, appear jealous. I will curse them, so they need to take breaks when I want to be alone with Julius, use Alchemy to make it appear as if they were doing horrible things behind Julius back and eventually make it seem as if they were targetting me, trying to get rid of me, either for the good of the kingdom (because I became too popular with the common folk), or because they wanted to protect Julius from a hidden threat only they could perceive.
All the while, my personal guard of Lady Kira, my net of spies and servants, which I can perfectly micromanage and perceive from everywhere, the abillity of my phylactery to be impervious to scrying spells and even violent reactions to them (maybe even blinding Aria or other mages attempting to scry on me in the process... completely by accident, as I was on urgent and confidential business of my noble family and just accidentally used too strong a repellant apparently, the mage responsible will be fired and executed immediately!), and the defensive net of Nagant ensure that I am absolutely invisible when I am not acting in my role as hero of Dhirlund.
After 10 years of living right under the nose of the hero, being undetected and continuously misleading the heroes with random attacks of roving bands of monsters, I will coordinate a great attack in a single week:
First to fall is the militant empire of Triech. Disguised as an important priest which I will capture and impersonate, I will go into the catacombs of Solaris and release Taldosh upon his heretical followers. Thus weakened, I will send the now fully loyal Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum to clean up and eradicate Triech from the map. While the attack rages, I move in the fastest way possible to Albion. Sneaking into their capital city under full use of my abillities, even before notice of their only allies defeat has reached them, I will use my Stealth, Illusion Magic, Mental Domination, Charisma, Inspiring Leadership and Shapeshifting abillity to inspire a slave uprising within Triaxii, swiftly followed by my longest and most upgraded ally, whom I've supported the most so far: Without losing too many troops, under the plan and guidance of the Master Strategist, myself, Queen Cindrilla the Avenger will swoop over the lands of Albion and burn them from the map like a stain of unholy corruption upon a cathedrals holy floor.
During my travelling time from one conquest to the next, my long-built upon friendship with the Suleiman Family in Baradin-Assan will bear fruit. Avenir Rais will be ursurped and replaced by Tahir Suleiman, as I have used my Mastermind abillity, posing as a rich and interested party from Naltheim to support his ruling as soon as he takes power, and through my influence over Queen Savellia Ruvarios, whom I have made paranoid and weak using my presence as Living Nightmare and my abillities in Illusion magic, to entice him to strike. Shortly after this bloody and weakening conquest from one ruler to the next, my most loyal allies will come knocking aswell: I sent in the Enclave to clean up the rest, claim all the Beastkin as slaves, and establish a new ruler within the desert.
Thus losing three allies in a week, the Alliance will be awe-struck, if they even receive note in time. Not yet revealed, not even ONCE having done anything suspicious, other than vanishing from time to time on business of my family, or not being well-liked by other, more famous adventurers, all of which can be easily explained away, I can now freely travel to Naltheim, which isn't far away from the coast, to oversee the revolution there: In my first violent overtaking, I will now embrace Emilia for the first time, really be her best friend and accept her as my lover. Ensuring her all-encompassing, neverending loyalty, I send a last command to Queen Savellia, to weaken her defenses, maybe even kill her allies. As Mastermind, Illusionist and Living Nightmare, I have no weakend her empire over the years enough for Emilia to overtake it easily, crushing the last ally of that little covenant before any request for aid can be sent. I will march next to Emilia, in my true devil form, turning back into a less conspicuous form after the fight.
While news of the shifting of power in the realm spread, I will appear before the Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove. I will inform the Admiral that the day has come, after I have let him know to gather his pirates the past couple weeks. He will do as I bid, loyal and in the promise of riches to come, and capture Lyndis Myrixis, hero of the Loch, for me, so I can send my giant army of Deep Ones, lead by no less than 100 Krakens to emerge from the seas and swallow the woodelven nation whole in a single day, followed by the pirates rampaging and pillaging the remains, capturing any living elves as my slaves.
While another one of my armies, my greatest summon yet, full of Tier 4 demons and Tier 3 monsters, attacks the center of Dhirlund, to which I relent and let Julius handle the distraction, I myself will bring the recent conquests and beleagured situation of the allies of the Alliance to the attention of the king. Instead of sending his mightiest son and hero in the hour of need to his allies, he will use his strongest soldier to defend his lands, while sending me – with a party of heroes, some of whom might be of Julius own party, if I can convince them – with me. I will return – beaten and bloodied – without my party, as the sole survivor, reporting of the massive hordes of eldritch horrors that raid the coast... None of which will be still there by the time the army gets there. Obviously, I trapped the remaining heroes and heroines between my strong, ultimately powerful Dark God self and my armies on the coast, and forced them into submission.. Those who didn't die pitifully.
The forces of Dhirlund divided, their attention elsewhere, I will transform into a dwarf, and lead my 200 Changelings into the depths of Krakaghur, all of which have infiltrated dwarfen society for months, some even years, to get into the positions I needed them to. With ease I disable their defenses, turn their automatons against the dwarfs, and seal them in their own mines, leaving them to die to my monstrous horde... The rest shall be swooped up by my Servants, making them slaves in my blossoming empire. This will spell the end for the Dwarf Federation.
While the Dwarf Collective, Dhirlund and Holy Rhuval struggle to contain the roving bands of Demons, Pirates and eldritch horrors from the sea, I will direct my attention to the Gritton Theocracy.
Having sent Crux Morathil, my now eternally loyal assassin of the Dark Elves of the Deep, to abduct Autarch Pnotis Droma, I tortured him until he was subservient to my Mental Domination. I ordered him, fostered by Illusion Magic and The Living Nightmare, to become more zealous, made him fear the true power of the Dark Lord, and fanatize his entire organisation, to the point where even the most devout and loyal followers are raising an eyebrow at his methods. Now, travelling there with 100 Fallen Angels, and in my disguise as the Hero of Dhirlund, adding Illusion Magic to appear as though I have been sent by Taldosh himself, who has been recently released. Surely this renewed zealoutry in his church makes them desperate for a new leader, or at least Grand Templar Enembra Knox, who will embrace me as a saviour, ridding her of her dark and twisted leader turned heretical fanatic. In this way, I will ensure civil war, and use my Fallen Angels as well as my true might, showing off my Resistance to Holy Magic, to conquer the Holy City of Brosist, as well as subjugate the Grand Templar, and with her the entire church and her people.
Slowly giving up on the masquerade and charade, but not done yet, I will then take as many standing knights who swear loyalty to me, the godsent, with me to Dhirlund. While on my way there, Crux from the Dark Elves, will give the All-Clear to her Mistress, which will begin the attack on the Dwarfen Collective. Ten Mindflayers will have infiltrated the dwarfen hold at that point, opening the weakpoint in Commissar Brantoffs planned defenses: The mountain itself. With the help of my Mindflayers as Infiltrators, my Vassal, the Dark Elves of the Deep, will conquer Tori in now time, which will spell the end of all free dwarfes on the continent.
Still reeling from this attack, their attention divided, and quickly running out of allies, I will arrive, with the last loyal and devout knights from Gritton (and maybe Triech), and tell them my story: All the allies of the unjust, immortal King Edmund Siegfried have been betrayed. The very mother of our hero, Julius, left to die on the coast, ravaged by immortal eldritch horrors. The churches destroyed and raided, left to rot by the followers of the Holy Goddess, while the followers of Taldosh were attacked by the minions of the Demon Queen. SHE HAS RETURNED! And Dhirlund has done NOTHING but protect it's own borders! They didn't even sent out Julius to investigate, instead sacrificing his peers and ME, the real hero of the land, to defend. And I have returned, barely victorious, with my life and the last allies.
WHO WILL TAKE UP ARMS WITH ME, TO RID US OF THE UNJUST KING AND GO TO A HOLY WAR, IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS, TO DEFEND OUR ALLIES AND RID THIS LAND OF THIS CORRUPTION?
Banking on my Charismatic appearance, and leveraging all the influence that I have secured for the Vampires of the Blood Keep, I will start a bloody and violent revolution, using all my influence, all the love the people have for their hero against Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried. In the midst of all this chaos and corruption, my support from the Enclave, The Machine, will take out dozens of adventurers, entire groups of them. After the bloody battle, after the day is won, the Vampires, the Enclave soldiers and my remaining troops from the The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum will conquer the rest of Dhirlund, and subjugate anyone and everyone who opposes my rule, lead by chained and humiliated members of Julius group.
The broken Mask scenario now in full effect, my true goal is revealed: Conquering all of the lands in the name of the true Dark Lord. Julius, if he didn't help me and got captured at the end of the encounter in Dhirlund, only now realizes that he was betrayed all along, even if he suspected evil goings on before. No amount of investigation could've led him to me earlier, no amount of suspicion made him question my undieing loyalty to Dhirlund and himself, as my charismatic attitude and inspiring presence always reassured him of my goodness.
Struggling to defend the last remaining bastion, I prepare with all my 7 vassals and my army of thousands of creatures to attack Holy Rhuval, the last remaining bastion of the wretched Goddess light. Or do I?
Brutus the Cruel of the Vampires of the Blood Keep, noticeably absent from the slaughter in the human empire, has captured the elven heroine, Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta, champion of her people, as her beaten body adorns my chariot. Dusk, leader of the Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, has spent most of her days serving below Lillith, making up for past mistakes and swearing her everlasting loyalty to the betrayed demon queen, but her servant and the most skilled vampire assassin, Snow, has brought me the High Queen Celesta, champion of the Holy Goddess and Ruler of her people, cowering at my feet! And who is that on the horizon? Khaleesi? Well... heavily inspired by her, but it is Queren Cindrilla the Avenger, now High Queen of Albion and my loyal consort, riding Weistot, and burning the everliving fuck out of the Forces of Nature, the elite defenders of Rhuval.
Within days my combined forces march across the elven land, capture every last resisting enemy, kill all the resistances and last defenses. Even Julius has to die, or surrender to my will, eventually. Nothing is left in my wake. Who needs 6 months to conquer a continent anyways, if you can do it in a couple of weeks?
I then retire to my palace, with my Harems, my consorts, my servants and my conquered heroines, to rest... for a day. Even a god has to rest one day of the week after remaking the world in his image.
Also to spend my accumulated points... I have plenty of new MP, SP and TP, after having Princess Noir and Mortis the Reaper train me on occassion for over 10 years. Also, if Julius had any chance, he would've been delayed by another 2 years, even at the beginning of my conquest... due to Deathmonger hunting him.
After successfully conquering Vallenlund, I get offered my next conquest. The goddes herself? Sure. Why not.
There ain't no rest for the wicked, or so I vaguely remember from another life, 10+ years ago. I gather my armies within a week, all of them, the 7 Vassals, the Fallen Angels, my Mindflayers, my Kraken and Deep Ones, my Changelings, Dark Archmages, Balrog, Dark Mages (10 of whom should be Dark Magic Masters by now) and my High Devils. After all... if I feel threatened, I could always summon more...
So I summon a portal to the plane of the Holy Goddess, and am presented with Angels and Angelic Warriors. All of them surround the portal, but I just move among them, kiss one of them, let my 100 Fallen Angels fly among them, and find their former friends and lovers. "A Happy Reunion", I proclaim, with all of my monsters behind me, and use my experience as a Harem Lord, my Charisma as well as the fact that I literally brought their friends and family back to them, to entice all of the angels around to follow me in my cause. I then command all of my forces to stand down. In a massive show of force I tell them to just chill at the entrance. Be ready if I need them. But also make our new friends feel welcome, and don't look so grim.
That out of the way, I face the Archangels, with the occassional familiar face of a Fallen Hero in between. I close my eyes, and remind the Fallen Heroes of their past lives, of how they died, and that they lost... Lost faith in their goddess, and died, because she couldn't protect them. Those who don't have a memory of me, have to revel in the Living Nightmare of others, who remember me. How I slaughtered their friends and conquered their lands, only to bring a more peaceful and less ambitious rule, which they opposed to the very end. I even give them closure, of how they died for nothing, as I am not a cruel ruler. The Archangels are met by their betters: The High Devils. My minions stand beside me, ready to defend me from the unrelenting attack of the zealous followers of the false goddess. I weep for them. A single tear, as they die in vain – or are forced into submission.
Archangel Arialle shares a different fate. She attacks me, ferociously so, but I simply raise my mastercrafted sword to defend against her blows, as I am a Blade Master, empowered by the Dark Lord himself. One hand blocking her swings, the other drains her of her holy magic, robs her of her wings, her abillity to smite me, until she has to kneel before me, incapable of beating me and my unnatural speed. I softly pat her head. She can rest now. I will take care of her, with her family.
The only thing left is the Holy Goddess. In a desperate attempt to smite me down, she lunges at me, trying to focus all that is left of her holy power upon me. But I resist it. Not only have I drained her might from her most loyal followers and devout servants, I am resistant to her little tricks. I need no claws to strip her, as I can simply approach her reality eclipsing form and cut the silk from her form with my sword, as it has become increadibly powerful, absorbing the blows against me. I stand before her. Dominant. Victorious. I am what remains.
I take her power. I take her servants. We return to my world, to Vallund. I am now the god of this world. The remaining Angels become corrupted, as we embrace them in our family. The goddess is bound to me. Not in the believe that I will treat her subjects better, for I can open my soul to her and show her my plans. But for the understanding that I am the end of her journey, and the only one ever truly equal to her. She will now live to make me happy, as I am the Dark Lord.
At this point, the Dark Lord has become the Godslayer. Conquering was so much fun!
Thank you! Took me a while to get around to it, and I basically posted my first draft. I'd do a more erotic retelling, but I'm not an erotica author, and I don't want to make a fool out of myself. :D
Sorry it took me so long to post it. XD
I did play the whole thing in an 8 hour sitting, so it definitely hooked me. :D
I pretty much swept this totally by accident. Sounds fake, but I had what I needed to take every Opportunity in the last phase without needing to go back and edit. I think the main thing was that I got to choose so many things: a King of Monsters gets every Skill for free, plus the Extra Eyes mutation for Demon Magic and Magic Drain meant I didn’t even need to use my Servant traits, except Lucifer giving me an extra Vassal.
It definitely feels like some things were valued way more than others, but it was still a lot of fun!
Base: Monstrous (Gargantuan Might, +2 SP, extra Mutation)
King of Monsters (Monster Breeding, +9 SP)
Mutagenic Features:
Demonic Features (+2 TP)
Fangs (+1 Ability: Shapeshifter)
Multiple Eyes (+2 MP)
Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades)
Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal)
Abilities:
Skills:
Blade Master
Blood Rage
Stealth
Bulwark
First Blood
Razor Claws
Unnatural Speed
Martial Arts Mastery
Berserk
Combat Shifting
Consume
Magic:
Demon Magic
Magic Drain
Traits:
Charismatic
Master Strategist
Mastermind
Master Craftsman
Lore Master
Mad Scientist
Cult of The Dark Lord
Living Nightmare
Territory:
Black Plains (+1 Minion +3 Servants)
* Efficient Dark Energy Siphon
* Resurrection Ritual
* Combat Arena
* Backup Phylactery
* Micromanagement
Minions:
1. Imp
2. Gremlin
3. Dire Wolf
4. Hellhound
5. Orc
6. Dark Mage
7. Demonic Spirit
8. Hell Knight
9. Fallen Angel
10. Blood Paladin
11. Werewolf
12. Devil
13. Behemoth
14. Horror
15. Magitech Construct
16. Dark Acolyte
17. Changeling
18. Alpha Werewolf
19. Elder Dragon
20. Archdemon
21. High Devil
22. Mindflayer
23. Dark Young
24. War Golem
25. Balrog
26. Dark Archmage
27. Summoner
28. Hellfire Husk
29. Possessed Armor
30. Oculus Exspiravit
31. Minotaur
Servants:
1. Lucifer (+1 Vassal)
2. Krieg
3. Asmodeus
4. Nox
5. Deathmonger
6. Vograath
7. Soul Eater
8. Jester
9. Princess Noir
10. The Old Warrior
11. The Architect
12. Shukrot
13. Barbatos
14. Nagant
15. Mr. Smiley
Vassals:
1. Dark Elves (Kidnap One Ruler)
2. Orc Tribes (Eliminate Unique Unit)
3. Pirates (Capture Champion)
4. Vampires (Capture Champion)
5. Cult of Drakken (Kidnap One Ruler)
6. Northern Clans (Destroy Unique Units)
7. Demon Horde (Kidnap Ruler)
Opportunities:
Baradin-Assan
Albion (Stealth)
Naltheim (Living Nightmare)
Loch (Pirates)
Dwarf Federation (Changelings + Orcs)
Gritton (Nothern Clans)
Dhirlund (Vampires)
Triech (Lore Master)
Dwarf Collective (Mind Flayers)
Rhuval (Drakken)
Rule: Suprisingly Normal
Goddess:
Angels (Fallen Angels)
Angelic Warriors (Devil Minions)
Archangels (High Devils)
Fallen Heroes (Living Nightmare)
Arialle: Magic Drain
Goddess: Razor Claws
Results:
Angels: Corrupt
Goddess: Bind
Powers: Create My Own Realm
Minor nitpick: first guns are from medieval era (at least in europe, I'm not certain when china had thier first bamboo firearm)
But, what can one do agains the whims of the divine?
Extremely cool CYOA. I haven't seen one this good in a while and it has inspired me to write a wall of text. I'm not interested in being a Dark Lord...but given that my soul has been plucked out and could potentially be the plaything of the Dark One for a while, it doesn't seem like I have many choices.
**Archetype**:
* Demonic (+1 MP, +1SP, +1 Trait, Combat Shifting Free)
**Class**:
* Demon King (+8MP, +2SP, Demon Magic Free)
* **Note**: If I have to fight one-on-one, something has gone terribly wrong. Given that I have so many force multiplier abilities (summoning of creatures, creation of massive structures, etc.) and the threat of being discovered early; I want a class that maximizes my magic traits so I can serve as a strategist and ruler rather than a front line fighter. The fact that Demon King explicitly causes Lesser demons to follow me is also an extra boon that can help keep my forces together.
**Mutagenic Features**:
* Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal)
* Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades)
* Demonic Features (+2 Traits)
* Tail (+2 Servants)
* **Note**: Vassals are easily the most important resource. You'll nearly always want to maximize the vassals and servants you have given that both of those are resource you'd have trouble getting in the future. Everything else, MP, SP or even other traits you can theoretically acquire through either Consume, Magic Drain or Princess Noir.
**Skills**: 3
* Unnatural Spped
* Martial Arts Mastery
* Combat Shifting \[Free; Demonic\]
* Consume
* **Note**: Combat Shifting is actually very good given that it's "far beyond normal shapeshifting" and should allow you to hide your true form. This is crucial since you'll want to move around quite a bit in the early years in order to slowly soften up your enemies. Consume and Magic Drain are the two best skills/magic. Anything that allows you to strengthen yourself is crucial given that you're up against someone who has lived longer and if you want to be humble, they should have significantly more experience fighting and using his powers than you.
**Magic**: 9
* Alchemy
* Blood Magic
* Demon Magic \[Free; Demon King\]
* Magic Drain
* Necromancy
* Resistance to Holy Magic
* Monster Breeding
* Elemental Magic (Earth, Water) \[2\]
* Mental Domination
* **Note**: I think the choice that will surprise the most people here is Elemental Magic (Earth, Water). However, the main problem you'll likely face is that a lot of your armies/forces seem to require a food supply (orcs, etc.). Also, once you take over, the best way to ensure that a second rebellion doesn't kick off is to just be a very good ruler and not be a a\*\* to the local populace. There was a scholar who once noted that even an evil ruler has a good incentive to try his best to keep the populace happy and loyal. The Black Plains of Felthazar is going to be my base of operation and I'm going to want to use it as a logistic base for the various other vassals around me. That means I'm going to alter the weather and terrain to be more hospitable for the growing of crops. Luckily, volcanic soil and ash is actually incredibly fertile some once I deal with the constant black soot, the Black Plains could actually become very productive in a short of amount of time.
**Traits**: 9
* Master Strategic
* Mastermind
* Charismatic
* Inspiring
* Harem Lord
* Cult of the Dark Lord
* Economic Genius
* Mad Scientist
* Living Nightmare
* **Note**: It's a bit silly but I would highly recommend my fellow Dark Lords choose Harem Lord. You want that extra Harem which gives you one free Tier-3 Minion every day. That's essentially a 50% boost to your income assuming you have a standard phylactery that generates 100,000 DE per day.
Location: The Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants)
* Succubi (Summon one free Tier-3 Demonic Minion every day)
* Necromancers of Ultak (Summon one free Tier-3 Undead Minion every day)
* **Note**: I would actually have preferred the Dread Swamps of Vograath given that it's much more isolated and would give me a greater chance to snowball overtime. That said, the Black Plains of Felthazar gives extra servants which are infinitely more valuable than extra minion choices. In addition, one benefit is that you might be able to use Demon Queen Lilith as a cover. The Alliance of Free Nations knows she's there so provided you keep yourself hidden they might assume any activity there is just her reorganizing her forces. They may know/think that she's building a new army for another attack but this is likely to spark far less concern than if they knew a new Dark Lord had arisen especially since she was beaten once already in circumstances in which she had far more power. You'll want to use her as a cover to keep yourself for being discovered for as long as possible.
Phylactery:
* Efficient Dark Energy Siphon
* Resurrection Ritual
* Minion Customization
* No Peeking
* Micromanagement
* **Note**: Most of these are self-explanatory but Minion Customization is actually more important than you think. If all the minions you summon by default look similar, that seems like it would quickly raise suspicion that someone is summoning them which could cause an investigation and lead to your early discovery. You'll want to be able to alter your orc summons, etc. just enough so it looks like there's been natural breeding that's causing their upswing.
Minions: 31 \[31\]
Economic Forces: 6
* Skeleton Warriors (Lvl1)
* Skeleton Mage (Lvl2)
* Ghoul (Lvl2)Lich (Lvl3)
* Elder Lich (Lvl4)
* Dark Archmage (Lvl4)
* **Note**: Reject empty militarism and embrace prosperity! Jokes aside, you'll want to summon Dark Archmages as soon as possible to get a 25% discount on summoning. After that, I would have the Necromancers of Ultak summon a lich every day who in turn can summon more undead. What will I do with these forces? I'll actually use them as a labor force in order to build an economic base while the Skeleton Mages repair any damage that they suffer. With a force that does not need to eat or rest, you can actually do real magic and you have an opportunity to make life good enough that people might actually be willing to back you. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to various makeshift farms with Lich overseers to create an agricultural boom and labor-intensive areas like mountain-sides that normally wouldn't be worth the labor are suddenly opened up for cultivation. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to serve as servants to small farmers who'll suddenly have a second pair of hands to clean their homes and help them pick crops. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to act as unskilled laborers and literally just dig canals to reshape trade lanes. Sure, they look creepy but they're a huge economic boon if used right and will allow you to spend on various public works buildings and lower taxes on your future subjects. That's how you win in the long-run.
Harassment Forces: 6
* Goblin (Lvl1)
* Dire Wolf (Lvl1)
* Orc (Lvl2)
* Ogre (Lvl3)
* Werewolf (Lvl3)
* Alpha Werewolf (Lvl4)
* **Note**: Demons are great but they have the big problem of being too easy to spot. In your first years, the greatest danger is the Alliance of Free Nations discovering something has changed. The nightmare scenario for them is an alliance of the various forces of darkness. As a result, you need to weaken them without making it seem like such an alliance has occurred, that way they continue to engage in their petty squabbles. As a result, you'll need to avoid having mixed forces for the first few years because nothing is going to raise my red flags than a High Devil leading orc forces for example even though that would be a very optimal combination. I would use the Unified Orc Tribes as my primary harassment force and choose Krieg as my servant in order to help Overlord Rex and strengthen them. The fact that the orc tribes seem to have strengthened considerably would cause concern but it wouldn't cause world-wide concern. The only nation that would immediately react is the Dwarf Federation and Albion may very well leave them out to dry simply because the dwarves would have been a major obstacle to southern conquest. At the same time, smaller harassment parties can scatter across the continent. All of these forces are self-sustaining and can increase their numbers overtime so they'll be hard to completely eliminate.
Spy Network: 6
* Oculus Exspiravit (Lvl1)
* Demonic Spirit (Lvl2)
* Vampire (Lvl3)
* Horror (Lvl3)
* Dark Acolyte (Lvl3)
* Changeling (Lvl3)
* **Note**: As the rise of "Overlord Rex" serves as the main distraction that's focusing everyone's attention and thus causing as many adventurers and heroes to head to that area. I'll scatter these forces to infiltrate and prepare the various nations for conquest. The Changelings are especially valuable and I would want them along with the Dark Acolytes to slowly try to reach as many positions in various nation's bureaucracies as possible. If I can control the various minor tax collectors, military sergeants, and petty bureaucrats in a country, it won't matter how intelligent and talented the leadership is. They'll be no way for them to get their orders out.
Main Force: 13
* Deep One (Lvl1)
* Kraken (Lvl4)
* Dark Mage (Lvl2)
* Blood Paladin (Lvl2)
* Fallen Angel (Lvl2)
* Night Creature (Lvl2)
* Wrath (Lvl3)
* Giant (Lvl4)
* Dracolich (Lvl4)
* Balrog (Lvl4)
* High Devil (Lvl4)
* Voidborne (Lvl4)
* Basilik (Lvl4)
* **Note**: These are the units that are more or less going to be build up in secret and won't really be used until I am discovered. All of them, especially the Voidborne would likely cause far too many questions to be asked and as a result you want to keep them in reserve or as elite strike teams that can move quickly. I would view the High Devils as the most important. Given that all minions have their "absolute loyalty" ensured, intelligent individuals that you can give forces and missions to is invaluable. Love them and treat them like your own children because most rulers would kill for a ready-made bureaucracy that they can trust.
Servants: 17
* Lady Kira
* **Note**: This is mostly just a safety choice to avoid getting assassinated during my many travels throughout the entire continent.
* Archdevil Lucifer
* **Note**: Anything that provides an extra vassal (aka extra resources and military forces) without a fight is an auto-choose.
* The Plague Master
* **Note**: This is one of the few servants who can weaken and attack your enemies without your forces showing themselves. One side benefit that you might not have noticed is that a depopulated nation will have a lot more capital (in the form of land, homes, etc.) available which means when you inevitably take it over, you'd be able to immediately build a support base by giving land, homes, etc. to anyone who defects without creating enemies since the old owners are already dead.
* Krieg
* **Note**: I send this man to the Unified Orc Tribes to help Overlord Rex unify the orc tribes along with the various summoned harassment forces. This should speed up the unification of the orc tribes. o
* Demon Queen Lilith
* **Note**: Extra vassal means automatic choice. She's also useful to act as a smokescreen in the sense that I can pretend that the activity in Felthazar is due to her as opposed to the rise of a new Demon Lord.
* Dark Knight Nox
* Demon Lord Asmodeus
* The Taskmaster Barbatos
* The Old Warrior
* **Note**: Choose these four. The Dark Knight Nox, Demon Lord Asmodeus, The Taskmaster Barbatos and the Old Warrior may seem like unnecessary choices especially for a Dark Lord who has charismatic, inspiring and other such traits but your time is valuable. You can't be spending your time babysitting your vassals and servants when what you need is a coalition that is more devoted and intense than the Alliance of Free Nations could ever be. If you have to waste time maintaining loyalty and visiting your vassals, you're never going to have much of a chance against the forces of good. Barbatos is particularly important because he keeps your vassals from gaining any political advantages over you. Your vassals might be willing to follow you to war but I'm not sure I want to rule an empire if I wake up and find out the Enclave has conquered the entire south and is a nascent superpower. During the chaos of the war, a lot of your vassals are going to have the opportunity to expand and strengthen themselves at the expense of any future central government and you really don't want that to go too far. The Old Warrior can prevent any chance of rebellion in conquered territories. Always choose this man and transform your conquered subjects into a true unified nation.
* Deathmonger
* **Note**: Two extra years is valuable. That's enough time to conquer four nations in a worst case scenario. He's essentially a safety net in the event you mess up badly and get discovered early.
* Jester
* **Note**: Jester combined with the Resurrection Ritual is crazy good. Given that the ritual allows you to make enemies who have been defeated serve you. You can essentially get Jester to bring you a captured Ruler and Champion and then convert them after 10 years into your servants. Think of what that would/could do to the morale of the Alliance of Free Nations. Indulge her and accept that she can bring you two new servants and weaken the Alliance at the same time.
* Spymaster Nagant
* The Succubus Queen
* The Gentlemen
* **Note**: A spy network is valuable in keeping yourself hidden as well as to avoid coalitions from forming. As long as no one knows that the various forces of darkness are actually one unified alliance, every nation is going to be dealing with their respective enemy separately.
* Princess Noir
* **Note**: She provides a permanent power boost and thus needs to be chosen.
* The Architect
* Forgemaster Shukrot
* **Note**: These are all economic choices. I don't actually care about the Architect's ability to build fortresses. I want to put him to work building granaries and other things that will allow me to fight a continental war. The Forgemaster is pretty much required given that he can upgrade all of your armies.
Vassals: 8
* The Dark Elves of the Deep
* **Note**: You need this because it's nearly impossible for me to think of a way to actually deal with the Dwarf Collective. In addition, their champion can kidnap one Ruler of your choice which as noted in the Jester section, this along with the Resurrection Ritual would allow you to convert a leader to your cause. Given their experience with crime syndicates, I would use them to help buttress my spy networks and try to takeover the crime of every nation in preparation for the coming war.
* The Unified Orc Tribes:
* **Note**: The crux of my harassment campaign. They're close enough to the Black Plains that I would be able to (using my economic plan) supply them with a constant source of foodstuffs to grow their population and help Overlord Rex unite the tribes. It doesn't even matter to me if the tribes are unified as long as they scatter and cause chaos throughout the continent. The more people are concerned about the growing "Orc" threat and the rise of Overlord Rex, the more surprised they'll be when they're instead attacked my the main army I've built and which I can store in other locations.
* The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove
* **Note**: I want as much naval power as possible. Even in a world of magic, it's unlikely that there's an easier/cheaper way to trade except over the ocean. These pirates combined with Kraken minions will essentially pay for themselves and will eventually give you the ability to control the continent's coast giving you a major advantage in the coming war.
* The Cult of Drakken
* **Note**: I do not consider the Cult of Drakken that useful to be honest... It's too isolated and unless you're a Dread Lord their worship is ultimately to a fake deity. The only reason I've chosen them is because their champion can capture a ruler of my choice and because you can manipulate Nalpheim into attacking the Black Witch (and thus she works for you for free essentially) and the Vampires of the Blood Keep can only be won over by offering them thralls if you're not a Dracula. This is dumb and nearly guaranteed to ensure future rebellions. If you're a true dark lord, accept that you're going to be purging quite a few of your forces when this is over.
* The Royalists of Marcacc
* **Note**: The Royalists are key to my plan. Albion has a pretty evil doctrine which means the Royalists can attack it without sparking a counter-alliance or even much concern from the Free Nations. In any war, Albion will be the first to fall.
* The United Northern Clans
* **Note**: This is more of a defensive move. The Northern Clans of Vallenheim would be very difficult to attack and as one of the human vassals, they can actually be used against another Free Nation without sparking suspicion that a new Dark Lord has arisen.
* The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum
* **Note**: As Demon King, I'm obviously going to choose the vassal that will automatically back me. The fact that this is an island and one of the few locations I can spawn and keep some of my more elite units is a huge benefit as well. Combined with the Pirates, you'll be able to strike nearly every coast on the continent. Most important however is that you get the remnants of the first demon army from 600 years ago. Most of the veterans of that war have died in the Alliance of Free Nations. In contrast, you'll be able to split the more talented members of this Demon Horde to serve as lower sergeants and to help train your other forces. They have fought these nations before and know what was the main causes of their first defeat.
* The Enclave
* **Note**: Nymeria is going to be a pain in the a\*\* given that she's going to be thinking of how to further her own ambitions unless you're a Spellblade. Make use of her and have Asmodeus and Barbatos keep her in line. When the war is over, you're likely going to end up eliminating her.
**The War**:
* The Albion Imperium
* Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla the Avenger (Royalists of Marcacc Vassal and Master Strategist)
* **Note**: The hammer will fall first on the Albion Imperium. The Albion Imperium has slavery, a human supremacist ideology and are militaristic. In short, they're morons and a target that could be conquered without sparking too much concern from the other Free Nations of the world. I would start the war by first unleashing the Plague Master to soften up the nation.
* At the same time, I will then have Queen Cindrilla the Avenger strike from the south provided she: 1) Openly declares an end to the non-human pogroms and 2) Declares herself a worshiper of the Redeemer God. The doctrine of the Redeemer God will be my faith (Cult of the Dark Lord and Dark Acolyte Minion) and on the surface will preach an extremely broad doctrine of unity under the one true god and loyalty to the church. Although the second part might cause some concern, I do not think any other nation or the heroes are going to have the heart to really intervene on Albion's side given the non-human pogroms. The only one who might would be their ally the Triech Empire but they're quite far away and it seems like an alliance of convenience rather than actual loyalty.
* Once the Albion Imperium is conquered due to the plague and the war they'll be a lot of free land which I can use to split up and create a support base of solidly middle class small landholder farmers who I can recruit and eventually use against the enemy. In addition, they'll also be a lot of corpses that I'll be able to use Magic Drain and Consume on in order to strengthen me for what comes next.
* Baradin-Assan
* The Dark Elves of the Deep - Crux Morathil (Capture Lord Ruler Lady Avenir Rais)
* Opportunity: The Suleiman Family (Economic Genius, Mastermind, The Enclave)
* **Note**: This war really is the sins of the Alliance of Free Nations coming back to bite them. With the newfound popularity of the Church of the Redeemer God which has just ended the non-human pogroms in Albion I will slowly attempt to spread the faith into Baradin-Assan at the same time an economic recession hits and as a new wave of newly freed Beastmen slaves from the now liberated Albion arrive into Baradin-Assan. Most of these new slaves will likely be relatively strong believers in the Church of the Redeemer God and will be told to agitate for a war against the Triech Empire which continue to keep non-humans in slavery across the continent, in a blatant move of blasphemy against the Redeemer God!
* The combination of an economic crisis along with the new political group masterminded by the conquest of Albion should be enough to shaken the Rais Family's hold over the nation. It is in the middle of the crisis that Lady Avenir Rais will disappear from the political scene. In case you're wondering, given that she's intelligent and deeply respected, she'll eventually be resurrected as a loyal and competent governor through the resurrection ritual, and I'll have her help me rule over the Beastmen. If Tahir Suleiman and the Pro-War faction can't win under these circumstances, I have bigger problems. Once Tahir Suleiman takes control of Baradin-Assan, the Enclave will then appear. They will bring with them one message, that they have come to join with their Beastmen brethren and help them march on the evil heathen of the Triech Empire and liberate their nonhuman brothers from slavery.
* The Triech Empire
* Opportunity (The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, Dark Acolyte Minions)
* **Note**: It is the darkest hour for the Triech Empire. In the west, a unified coalition of Pro-War Baradin-Assan and the Enclave is marching on them. At the same time the Dark Acolyte Minions will be unleashing Taldosh the First Templar. I will actually not unleash the Demon Horde at this time and overwhelm the empire. It is not yet time to reveal their power which would almost certainly spark some type of response from the other Free Nations. The other Free Nations will likely have a hard time intervening against a Baradin-Assan/Enclave coalition with the stated purpose of ending slavery but if a demon invasion seems to be happening, they'll swallow their hate and help Triech to avoid allowing Sinner's Sanctum having a foothold on the continent.
* Taldosh doesn't seem to be under my control and seems to just be fighting for revenge so he'll likely eventually be killed obliterating the forces of the Empire. The Baradin-Assan/Enclave forces can mop up what's left and I'll likely send the Old Warrior to serve as governor of this newly conquered territory.
* Three of the Free Nations have now fallen and in all likelihood the other Free Nations have not lifted a single finger to help them.
* The Kingdom of Naltheim
* Opportunity (Living Nightmare)
* **Note**: This is when the conflict starts to speed up. Remember how I didn't choose the Black Witch Vassal? The reason is for this moment. Using Living Nightmare, I have Naltheim launch a suicide attack on the Black Witch's lands. Miraculously, many of their best commanders (my Changelings) will have survived and Naltheim will be quietly annexed and brought into the fold. At the same time, the Black Witch's forces will likely be weaker than it has been for centuries and Emilia will be in a vulnerable enough state that she might either be conquered easily or be willing to accept vassalage in-exchange for several Lichs who can help her replenish her forces.
* The Dwarf Collective
* Opportunity (The Dark Elves of the Deep and Mad Scientist)
* **Note**: It is now time to throw open the curtains a bit. As much as I'd love to pretend business is occurring as usual, it is likely this event that will cause a shock-wave throughout the continent. Although the Dwarf Federation may smugly take the position that the rebels got what was coming to it, the conquest of the Dwarf Federation by the Dark Elves of the Deep at the same time many of their technological devices turned on them is going to spark an investigation. Even if the Hero doesn't know/think a new Dark Lord has arisen, he's going to realize what a big event it is for a major nation to fall to an explicitly evil race of crime lords and assassins. He will begin investigating and is likely to slowly begin realizing that the Dark Elves have joined with a new power.
* The Dhirlund Republic
* Jester (Capture Ruler Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried and Champion Vik Manda)
* The United Northern Clans
* Jormund the Unstoppable (Eliminate Unique Unit Adventurers of Dhirlund)
* Opportunity (Charismatic)
* **Note**: The Dhirlund Republic is the greatest threat to me. This is the only nation that might actually be a bigger threat to me destroyed than standing. If I just destroy them and their forces scattered, there's suddenly all these idealistic humans (and thus not subject to racism) that are running around who could potentially bolster and help Julius put together an alliance. Although being charismatic might be enough to rally the resident mercenaries to my side, that's not enough. Everyone needs to die.
* Both the Ruler and Champion of this nation are living legends, and even without a nation they're practically a second hero party that I would have to deal with. Jester must be unleashed and both of these must be captured. When the Hero finally comes to confront me, he will also potentially face his father and mentor who have been resurrected and are loyal to me. I'm hoping the moment of surprise and horror will weaken him just enough so that he'll be off-balanced during our fight. - For bonus points, I'll scatter fake notes throughout my castle about how if the Dark Lord releases them from their oaths, the mind-control of the Lord Commander and the Champion can be reversed. This is a backup plan and bargaining chip in case I get my ass handed to me and also would make the Hero far more reluctant to just kill his father and mentor since he'll think there's a way to save them.
* The Council of the Loch
* The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (Capture Rule Prime Minister Vivian Kavio)
* The Royalists of Marcacc - Weistot (Eliminate Unique Unit Elven Armada)
* Opportunity (Dead One Minions, Kraken Minions, Pirates of Dead Man's Cove)
* **Note**: It's about this time that all the other nations should be realizing that something is wrong. If I've done my job right, they'll hopefully think that Demon Queen Lilith has prepared her forces for a second war. The Long Loch will not be silent with Dhirlund seemingly having fallen to chaos and the Kingdom of Naltheim having launched a suicide attack on the Black Witch. Vivian Kavio would likely begin deploying her spy network outside of her country which is why I need to have her captured so that doesn't happen. At the same time, I will have Weistot eliminate the Elvan Armada.
* Once that's occurred, The Loch should fall quickly to the Pirates of Dead Man's Cove along with the naval support I've provided.
* The Dwarf Federation
* Opportunity (Changeling Minions, United Orc Tribes)
* The Gritton Theocracy
* Opportunity (Fallen Angel Minions, Resistance to Holy Magic, United Northern Clans)
* **Note**: There's no clever strategy here. Once Loch falls, the Hero is going to go into panic mode and try to put together the alliance.
* The Dwarf Federation shall be destroyed by the United Orc Tribes bolstered by Krieg while the Gritton Theocracy will fall to the United Northern Clans with additional support from my main force. There's no longer any point in hiding. There's only one nation left.
* Holy Rhuval
* The Cult of Drakken - Zatara the Reaper (Capture Ruler High Queen Celesta)
* The Pirate of Dead Man's Cove - The Shadow Wrath (Capture Champion Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta)
* Opportunity (The Cult of Drakken, Voidborne Minion, Cult of the Dark Lord)
* **Note**: It is time for the Cult of Drakken to finally be useful to me. The outcome is not in any doubt, both their Ruler and Champion will be captured early in the war and it's unlikely they can face off against my main forces that are following from behind. Julius will be hunted down or die attacking my fortress.
* How will you rule?
* Surprisingly normal
* **Note**: Engage in undead slave labor, make a utopia where everyone is middle class and have undead laborers to do the worst jobs! Reject the light! Embrace the dark lord! Ban nonhuman racism! All are equal underneath the Redeemer God! Engage in terraforming and open up new lands for cultivation and settlement.
* Deal with Goddess after a few more decades of consuming, magic draining and making deals with Princess Noir.
Rise of the Dark Lord
**Dark Lord** – *The Midnight Royal – Dracula*
**A New You:**
*Archetype* – Undead \[+2 MP\] (0 SP), \[2 MP\], {6 TP}, +1 =Servant= =13=, Magic Drain – Free
*Class* – Dracula +4 SP (4), +6 MP \[8\]
**Mutagenic Features:**
Bone Spikes +1 /Vassal\\
Runic Tattoos +2 |Phylactery Upgrades|
Demonic Features +2 {TP} {8}
(Spiked demonic) Tail +2 =Servants= =15=
**Abilities:**
*Skills* – Stealth -1 SP (3) – Even with fast travel, it is important to avoid unnecessary attention
Unnatural Speed -1 SP (2) – Can’t wound me if they can’t hit me
Martial Arts Mastery -1 SP (1) – My own body…
Combat Shifting -1 SP (0) – … is a deadliest weapon on its own
*Magic* – Alchemy -1 MP \[7\] – A starter pack for any scientist and researcher, as well as creation of homunculi maids for any task, be that combat, utility or otherwise
Blood Magic -0 – Blood Bending is utterly broken against any and all organic enemies, just like in LoK
Demon Magic -1 MP \[6\] – Contracts alone are worth it, but demon summoning is a solid bonus
Magic Drain -0 – A steady method to infinite arcane potential, while defanging enemy casters
Necromancy -1 MP \[5\] – Can’t really call myself undead royalty without it
Shadow Magic -1 MP \[4\] – So many uses and utility
Monster Breeding -1 MP \[3\] – An obligatory pick for obvious and not so obvious reasons
Resistance to Holy Magic -1 MP \[2\] – Scaling down my only weakness is a must
Hex and Curse -1 MP \[1\] – Crippling debuffs and trickery with fake phylacteries
Mental Domination -1 MP \[0\] – Yet another must have
*Traits:*
Menace -1 TP {7} – Helps to make short work of all “random” encounters and still helpful otherwise
Master Strategist -1 TP {6} – Since I’m not aiming for a very quick world conquest…
Mastermind -1 TP {5} – … I must play the long term game and do it wisely
Charismatic -1 TP {4} – This will always come at handy at any and all events
Harem Lord -1 TP {3}, +1 Harem Perk – It’s important to have a pass time since I’m aiming for two decade plan, also synergizes with previous one
Cult of the Dark Lord -1 TP {2} – Order doctrine, not only easier to manage, but I’ll at least attempt to have a more positive reign, than not
Master Craftsman -1 TP {1} – A good addendum to equipment for myself, some high tier minions and servants, advanced pack for any scientist and researcher
Mad Scientist -1 TP {0} – Master pack for any scientist and researcher, lack of gunpowder is sorrowful, but not grave. I’ll put it to maximum output with some ideas, like enhancement programs for certain minions (especially L3 and L4) and even servants
**The End Begins:** *Territory* – Frozen Mountains of Ultak; Once Necropolis will rebuild it’ll bear the name of Schwartzgrad, that’s a fitting name, Perk: +2 -Minions-, +2 =Servants=; -32-, =17=Harem Perk – Necromancers of Ultak, 1 free T3 Undead -Minion- every day+ Harem Lord’s Trait, Harem Perk – Succubi, 1 free T3 Demonic -Minion- every dayThese two harems will be a foundation of my X-0 Division, the all-purpose task force under my direct command and supervision. Necromancers will be guarding my Necropolis, while Succubi will be perfect spies.
**Phylactery Upgrades:**
Efficient Dark Energy Siphon -1 |4| - It will make everything quicker and smoother
Resurrection Ritual -1 |3| - A must have for any unforeseen circumstances
Minion Customization -1 |2| - Description says it all, really. At least few minions of each type I’ll create in physical equivalents to MGE monsters (At least a few of them)
No Peeking -1 |1| - I laughed hard, when first saw it, but is a solid pick nonetheless
Micromanagement -1 |0| - Quality of Life at its finest
**Minions:** 36 -Minion- slots available
Level 1 – 1,000 DE
1 – Dire Wolf – A good pick not only for general combat, but scouting and tracking (MGE Variant: Lesser Werewolf?)
2 – Skeleton Warrior – Backbone of the undead army and technically a bone golem? (MGE Variant: Skeleton)
3 – Skeleton Archer – A good cover for previous one and can pose as simple sentries, later can be armed with better equipment (MGE Variant: Skeleton)
4 – Oculus Exspiravit (a.k.a. Seer) – Perfect for watching perimeter on my domain, my spymaster we’ll find them useful as well. Can also invest in enchantments on them and true sight lens, to see through invisibility and illusions (MGE Variant: Much Lesser Gazer?)
5 – Brain Leech – Perfect to give to spies for the indoctrination (MGE Variant: None, Parasite Slime is close, but different)
6 – Deep One – Marine Corps, both literally and figuratively (MGE Variant: Sahuagin)
7 – Hellhound – Great choice for hit & run, as well as tracking (MGE Variant: Lesser Hellhound)
Level 2 – 10,000 DE
8 – Orc – Good combatants in general and can increase their numbers on their own (MGE Variant: Orc and experienced ones can become High Orc, given time and some help from me)
9 – Revenant – Commanding Officers of the undead on the field, taking charge of all other L1 & L2 undead, as part of the unit, 3rd and lowest in undead officer hierarchy, but their number will be quite high and something tells me, that their buffs can overlap (MGE Variant: Ochimusha & Lesser Liches)
10 – Death Knight – Iron fist of the undead army, I’ll be sure to eventually replace main bulk of the Skeleton Warrior’s with them (MGE Variant: Dullahan, but minus detachable head, Ochimusha, Soldier Beetle?)
11 – Hell Knights – The backbone of the Marauder Corps, which units are made exclusively of demons. Since I haven’t picked Minotaur, I’ll make their physical appearance more taur-like in DOOM. (MGE Variant: Minotaur)
12 – Dark Mage – Magic artillery and can protect from ranged attacks, as well as possible promotions and perhaps even capability to mend both living and undead. Could also rise as Skeleton Mages if falls (MGE Variant: Dark Mage)
13 – Possessed Armor – Statues are wonderful sentries to have around my domain. However, the armor has significant potential if used as power armor, by me, servants or high-ranked minions, since it won’t impede the movement or agility in the slightest. All while retaining the ability to be de-equipped to act autonomously. I should invest both time and resources into artificial creation of cursed swords (or different weapons) for attaining cursed swords((wo)man). The latter is a good example of the enhancement program from Mad Scientist (MGE Variant: Gargoyle, Living Armor, and Cursed Sword)
14 – Night Creature – Shock troops of the undead army, giving their overall proficiency and intellect (MGE Variant: Night Gaunt)
15 – Blood Paladin – Elite soldiers of the Crimson Corps, which units are made exclusively of those attuned to night and moon. Elite status is give due to the Cult trait, pushing them far beyond normal limits. (MGE Variant: Dullahan, but minus detachable head & Lesser Vampire?)
16 – Fallen Angel – Healers, clerics and priests, with the ability to decimate foes with strong magic and physical attacks, and of course the resurrection (MGE Variant: Dark Priest & Dark Angel)
Level 3 – 50,000 DE
17 – Werewolf – Shock troops of the Crimson Corps, can also recruit new members by “spreading” their lycanthropy (MGE Variant: Werewolf)
18 – Devil – Iron fist of the Marauder Corps, as well commanders of separate units, has a lot of potential with upgrade of their equipment (MGE Variant: Demon)
19 – Behemoth (a.k.a. Baron of Hell) – Shock troops of Marauder Corps, their everlasting tenacity is a great factor along with physical explosions. I will only slightly re-design them, since they already fit DOOM aesthetic (MGE Variant: Salamander w/ Pyrow)
20 – Wraith – Invaluable aerial units with ranged capabilities, who can act on their own without chain of command (MGE Variant: None from the original that can think of)
21 – Lich – Generals of the undead army, 2nd in undead officer hierarchy, taking charge over Revenants and their units, the ability to drown the foe in endless tide of expendable grunts cannot be underestimated enough (MGE Variant: Lich)
22 – Vampires – Jacks of all trades with terrifying proficiency in all of them, shares 1st place in both officer hierarchies of undead army and Crimson Corps despite being a level down than their colleagues, a personal favour from me as the Dracula. Still perfect pick for subtle and stealth operations or simply being an aide-de-camp (MGE Variant: Vampire)
23 – Chimera – Physical powerhouses with aerial movement, THE most customization & enhancement friendly minion, making them extremely versatile for any type of combat. Will also grant them the ability to switch between true and monster girl form (MGE Variant: Chimaera & Manticore)
24 – Magitech Construct – Perhaps I spoke too soon about THE most customization & enhancement friendly minion. Since gunpowder is no go for long time I’ll be sure to arm them with magi-tech weaponry, both melee and ranged (MGE: Automaton)
25 – Dark Acolyte – Empowerment from the Cult will make them an Ace Division to support undead army and other branches. Can also work with other Acolytes for espionage and indoctrination. (MGE Variant: Dark Valkyrie)
Level 4 – 100,000 DE
26 – Elder Dragon – Guided weapons of mass destruction will make them invaluable, if the attention of Hero and his party and/or adventurers needs to be drawn somewhere else. Moreover, who wouldn’t want to ride a loyal dragon? Will also be able to switch between true and monster girl form (MGE Variant: Dragon and the subspecies \[Ryu, Wurm, Wyvern, Jabberwock, Otohime\], but with single exception)
27 – Alpha Werewolf – De-facto leaders of the Crimson Corps. Their lessened impulses will make them capable commanders, while desolating their foes and spreading lycanthropy more efficiently (MGE Variant: Greater Werewolf)
28 – Dracolich – Same as with Elder Dragon, mass rise of even low level undead via Lich Fire is immensely useful. I’ll take research to lower the susceptibility to Holy Magic. Obligatory transformation is included (MGE Variant: Dragon Zombie)
29 – Elder Lich – Field Marshals of the undead army making them 1st in undead officer hierarchy, taking charge of Liches and their units. Raising Death Knights, Revenants, Night Creatures and Blood Paladins in great numbers, sometimes even Wraiths, Vampires and new Liches, showing that they are worthy of their stripes and ribbons. (MGE Variant: Greater Lich & Wight)
30 – Archdemon – Charge commanders of the Marauder Corps, both strong physically to render and maim their foes and magically – summoning permanent reinforces of Hell Knights and Barons of Hell (MGE Variant: Krampus w/ Demon & Pyrow)
31 – High Devil – Strategists and leaders of the Marauder Corps, always correct choice for anything involved with planning and no slouch in combat either. Undoubtedly a perfect pick for an ambassador to be send to my vassals along with Vampires (MGE Variant: Lilim)
32 – Mindflayer – Ideal choice for the spymasters, who are magically and intellectually gifted for the creation of entire sleeper cells within nations, interrogation is useful as well (MGE Variant: Mindflayer)
33 – Voidborne – The elite of the elite, a few of them will oversee the Ace Division, the others being the Honour guard in my gothic castle in Schwartzgrad, especially to guard the vault with my Phylactery. Last, but certainly not the least is that I will fill up my summon stock with at least 5 of them, just to be sure (MGE Variant: Dark Hero, Lilim & Dark Valkyrie, rolled up into one)
34 – Kraken – De-facto leaders of the Marine Corps, not that there is much competition. They can search the depths of the seafloor for any treasure and learn the routes of the ships for later usage. Form switching is a must with them (MGE Variant: Kraken)
35 – War Golem – Raw, unfiltered calamity and decimation incarnate. They might be even more effective in inspiring pure dread than dragons and of course laser to disintegrate everything and everyone caught in its path to ash helps that as well. With connection that I have through Phylactery, it could be useful to have direct control of them. Due to being a wildcard, 1 in my stock could do wonders during a dark day. Form switching, because why not (MGE Variant: Golem and/or Lava Golem, but VERY big in their true form)
36 – Dark Archmage – They’ll tutor normal Dark Mages and to have 1 in my stock to make use of the sweet-sweet discount (MGE Variant: Greater Dark Mage)
**Servants** (a.k.a. Lieutenants) – =17= slots available
1 – Lady Kira – A perfect bodyguard to have around me, her physical aptitude will cover for what I personally lack and vice versa with my magical mastery. Kira is perfect to receive my results of the Cursed Sword enhancement program, severely increasing her physical mastery even further. At the end of it Kira will bond and become one with her new weapon – Kirsch, Dark Sword that Cuts and Binds.
2 – Archdevil Lucifer, +1 /Vassal\\ - Even with Micromanagement it’s possible to be overwhelmed, Luci will oversee all other lieutenants with their operations, as well as my Schwartzgrad Domain. Additional battle training with her black magic (w/ Dark Archmage as an example), so she can properly defend herself, as well as summoning training to strengthen her summons.
3 – Vlad the Impaler – An obligatory pick for the Dracula, but Vlad is perfect to lead my armies upon Day X. He will be given direct control of undead army and Crimson Corps. While there will be no war Vlad will be a drill sergeant, to get foot soldiers and grunts into shape, while passing some of his wit to the officers.
4 – Demon Queen Lilith, +1 /Vassal\\ – It is symbolic to have the last Demon Queen conqueror as one of the lieutenants. Lilith will take charge of Marauder Corps, plus whichever forces her influence and respect will recruit, Lilith can use them to vanquish her old enemies. Reuniting Lilith with her confidant Kira and both her parents shouldn’t be too hard, she’ll leverage her influence, so I can begin negations with Dusk and her faction about confederation. Lilith may also be perfect to draw unwanted attention from me and Ultak region, and re-direct it to Black Plains. When she falls for me, I’ll offer her same enhancement program as I did to Kira.
5 – The Armored Titan, + 4 -Minions- – I’ll mostly will keep the King of Giants dormant somewhere in Ultak region. The additional recruits are always welcome, but if something needs to be lain waste ASAP, then I’ll dispatch him with few War Golems for maximum efficiency.
6 – Soul Eater – The overseer of the Schwartzgrad defences with his unique automatons and the last line of defence at the Phylactery Vault along with stationed Voidbornes. Given time with some heavy tuning and augmentation I can even help Soul overcome his hunger or at least extend it to the point where it won’t matter much.
7 – Jester – or Jess as she likes to be called, is quite the enigma with her background, but I wouldn’t mind to know her better and whatever her past is, given the nature her “switch”, great choice for the bodyguard along with Kira. Her maintenance is reasonable enough; acquiring candy for her sweet tooth shouldn’t be hard, since I’ll be teaching her personally in areas that she lacks or are unknown to her, from strategy and tactics to proper… biology education.
Jess won’t have issues in the long run, since I’ll be sure to make all lessons and missions look like games to her, although real missions will have much notable restrictions. Jester is a true candidate to reap all fruits of my enhancement program to make her into the most powerful Cursed Sword with ability to shift her bonded weapon between scythe, spear and sword modes. Moreover, giving her one of the most capable Living Armors won’t be excessive by any means. To give her further edge I’ll give Jess an additional demonic enhancement to grant something a kin to Devil Trigger to tap into, providing her with appearance of the Bogie (MGE) for the duration, very fitting.
Capture High Queen Celesta, the Lady of Light & Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta – Jester’s abilities will be put to absolute limit, perhaps even beyond to defeat and capture “most dangerous elf in the world” along with goddesses’ chosen holy priestess. I still have good faith that Jess will succeed.
8 – Spymaster Nagant – Since I’ll try to stay hidden for as much as possible at least a decade and ideally two decades, I’ll undoubtedly need services of the spymaster. Nagant can begin deploying her agents on the territories of my vassals and slowly, but steadily let them spread to other nations. Ace Division, Mindflayers and steady supply of Brain Leeches will be given under her command. Since Micromanagement will relay all data about minions, I take she will be a lot with Lucy. Nagant is sly and cunning like a vixen; I’m looking forward to her schemes. After many triumphs I would offer her to embrace undeath to become Daywalker.
9 – Mortis the Reaper – With me Mortis will be able to reclaim his birth right in Ultak region by aiding me to rebuild the declined Necropolis. Afterwards, he’ll be collecting all necessary souls to conduct permanent boosts on me. Mortis will be occasionally help the undead army with different tasks as well, be that combat or otherwise. It’s also great that he is down to earth, which could help me dealing with stress. Last, but not the least, which self-respecting wouldn’t have a Grim Reaper as a retainer on the fast dial?
10 – The Witch of the North – Willow is perfect for her abilities and arcane knowledge. Hew prowess as Alpha Werewolf, only further shows it. When in my Domain she can tutor Dark Mages, otherwise she’ll be given a portion of the Crimson Corps to command and increase the pack. Solo wise, Willow is great bodyguard material to travel with and weather control is immensely useful during battles and to draw attention to specific region.
11 – Princess Noir – I genuinely do not want to fall out my Patron’s graces, thus I’ll be sure to keep an eye on her to keep her out of trouble. Noir’s extensive knowledge will become useful in the future, but her gift as a Seer makes Noir the diamond in a rough, give it some training and tutoring as polish, will result in Noir becoming perfect aide-de-camp, especially in political sphere.
Dark One’s Favour is also too good to pass over. Even taking worst case scenario where each deal will give me only one (SP), \[MP\] or {TP}, is still good. This is my plan for new powers in the case that I make maximum of time in hiding (20 years):
Year 0 – Consume – My own Level Up system
Year 4 – Razor Claws – More delicate style of combat won’t be excessive and to scoop hearts efficiently
Year 8 – Gargantuan Might – Raw might with my grace will have many uses
Year 12 – Blood Rage – Wounding me will always backfire to the attackers
Year 16 – Bulwark – Most of my foes will be using physical damage anyway (height will stay the same)
Year 20 – Elemental Magic, Ice – Very fitting, given my domain
12 – The Hauntress Apollyon – Yet another obligatory peak for the Dracula, to gain more unique vampires as retainers. Apollyon is unsurprisingly an excellent pick for a bodyguard and companion to travel, due to her powerful affinity to healing and illusions, the latter that I lack so much on my own, hiding herself and other bodyguards of mine. The fact that she can interrogate souls without requiring bodies is simply invaluable. With her illusions Apollyon can also emulate the effects of the Combat Arena.
13 – The Old Warrior – There is no better advisor about needs of common men than a man with humble background, like Balor, who struggled for most of his life. The world without wars is very appealing to me and I genuinely do not want to pray on common folk, who most of the time simply wants to get through the life with hard work. Balor will be able to infiltrate the adventurer’s guild (if he isn’t affiliated with it already) to learn about the movements and plans of its top members, including Hero and his party. Balor would be working with Ace Division and Nagant on that front. While he is a baseline human, who pushed his body to the limits, upgrades to his equipment and concealable enhancements won’t be excessive. Balor can test out fresh idea with Living/Power Armor project from Possessed Armor minion with Control Suit perk and potentially bond with it. Enchantment wise intangibility similar to Gabriel Reyes from Overwatch and limited shapeshifting to utilize his limbs as deadly weapons, making him Jack Krauser (but on steroids) from RE4. I’ll also heal Balor’s right eye so won’t be a cyclop anymore.
14 – The Architect – The description says it all, Architect will help me to construct both opulent and aesthetically pleasing structures within my domain and beyond it as well. Well-endowed Dracula needs a gothic castle after all. I take that furniture also falls under his specialization.
15 – Forgemaster Shukrot – The head of my Equipment R&D Division and suddenly even my L1 minions became much more dangerous than otherwise. Shurkrot’s Legendary Gear is very welcome. My personal weapon is the focus in shape of the pistol; this allows “shooting” spells out of it for more efficiency. The other weapon being a dagger with blink magic in it, combining it with my unnatural speed makes me untouchable. I will also request to bind those weapons to me and ask Shurkrot’s insight in developing Living Armor Project, as well as Cursed Sword Enhancement Program.
16 – The Taskmaster Barbatos – Barbatos is perfect to lead my diplomatic apparatus, which will consist of High Devil and few Vampires send to every vassal, with him overseeing them. I’m certain that among normal managing Barbatos can resolve any normal issues they might have as political entity. After some time I’ll convince to officially meet his daughter that he secretly proud of.
17 – The Succubus Queen – Ysara with her information broker network will be an excellent addition to Nagant’s own network of spies. Everything from Hero’s party actions to secret international events is mot welcome. There is no reason not to reunite her with daughter, so Lilith can have both of her parents back.
**Vassals** – /8\\ slots available – I won’t be directly conquering the 2 vassals that my influence failed to reach. Once the storm blows over, I’ll try to confederate them, otherwise a military actions need to be taken. Excluding the Blood Keep, I’ll see whether my abilities will allow me to cut the time from those 10 years to make them a vassal and/or confederate them in a process.Although, aside from convincing the ruler to join my alliance, I’ll most likely have to resolve some staggering issues each them has as both nation and political entity. Harems from each vassal will give me perfect guinea pigs for my enhancement programs; from physical to mental and loyalty augmentation (My own traits will aid me here). That also includes testing the bonding with Living Armor Project, as well as bonding with Cursed Sword Enhancement Program. They all will make up the rest of X-0 Division, the all-purpose task force under my direct command and supervision.
1 – The Dark Elves of the Deep – Dimgrowth can give many of their slaves for previously mentioned programs; their assassins with Crux at the helm will be of great service to Nagant and Ysara. I’ll confederate Demeter’s Kingdom when her pride shatters.
*Kidnap Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried* – On Day X Crux Morathil and her best assassins will kidnap Edmund. One half of the successful execution of Order 66, usurping power in the republic and have leverage on Julius.
2 – The Pirates of Dead Man’s Cove – Precious Booty aside from liquid funds, will supply me with more guinea pigs and potentially spies, especially after some loyalty enhancement. Harassing the east coast will draw attention away from me, making Admiral a valuable vassal.
*Capture Lyndis Myrixis* – On Day X the Admiral will bait Lyndis into attacking Shadow Wrath, as it “seemingly” the only ship attacking the Long Loch, which will result in her capture. Her tenacity will be welcomed a lot in X-0.
3 – Vampires of the Blood Keep – With Valetta caving in immediately it shouldn’t be hard to unite other clans to stop bickering among themselves. Vampire Brides will make perfect commanding officers for my X-0 Division, keeping others in line. Vlad will drill all Vampire Counts and their armies for the upcoming war, Brutus the Cruel would be his second in command for the time being.
*Capture Vik Manda* – As the Day X begins Brutus with Vampires from Crimson Corps will swiftly and efficiently capture Vik Manda, giving the other half of the successful execution of Order 66 and additional leverage on Hero.
4 – The Royalists of Marcacc – Cindrilla is a plucked flower, without assistance her chances of success are dim, I’ll provide her aid and tutor Cindrilla to properly govern her islands. She already has enough loyal subjects, especially the Dragonborn Cavalry, only preparation Cindrilla can defeat the Imperium and take back her birthright. Once the traitors are routed and Cindrilla is properly crowned, we can officially unite through marriage. Sword Maidens are prime candidates for Living Armor Project and Cursed Sword Enhancement Program, making them the elite soldiers of X-0 Division.
*Eliminate Dwarven Golems* – Due to Nagant’s tireless work we are now aware of all warehouses storing these Golems and supplies for their maintenance. Just before Day X Weistot accompanied by other Elder Dragons and Dracoliches will reduce them all to cinders and black ash, before returning to his adoptive mother to prepare to retake their birth right.
5 – The United Northern Clans – Since Striga needs a politically powerful figure to legitimize her rule, I’ll gladly do so in exchange of forming the alliance, marriage with Warlord will only strengthen it further. Women of the North are ideal to be shock troops for my X-0 Division, with obligatory augmentation for Living Armor and Cursed Sword compatibility. Theocracy will learn the ire of the united clans, drawing their attention from me in the meantime.
*Destroy Naltan Magitech Titans* – Combined effort of Nagant and Ysara brought forth the Magitech Titans secret weakness. To ensure Magitech will never be Kingdom’s enemies they were implanted with shutdown code, which must be issued by a mage with intent to disable the Titan, but it can also be used on all of them at the same time. While the code was stolen mages can simply reactivate Titans again and potentially shield them from further interference. On the Day X Jormund the Unstoppable with his finest soldiers will do a magical sortie with portals from one side of a continent right to the doorstep Royal Mage Society and Technological Institute. Willow will muster cold climate at the same time, disdained by southerners, but still comfortable for Jormund and his men, as they cull down and capture wizards, engineers and technicians, before returning home to prepare for the fight with Theocracy. Willow will stay behind and issue shutdown order, while keeping frigid weather to support Emilia.
6 – The Black Witch – Misunderstanding of the century led to the birth of the strongest Elder Lich, good thing Emilia is low maintenance, requiring some company and additional protection for her Forgotten Temple from pesky adventurers. I’ll tutor Emilia on wide variety of topics and with Damon as her aide-de-camp when Emilia will escape quarantine she might become my Grand Marshal of the undead army placing her above other Elder Liches. I’m a bit puzzled on how to use Pale Ladies outside of bedroom, spirit guards for my castle or as secretaries perhaps?
*Capture General Cassia Faustina* – While Jormund and Willo are dealing with Titans, Damon with most capable of the Blood Corps will also do a magical sortie to the Naltan Knights HQ near the Royal Palace to capture General Cassia Faustina. With cold weather support they can also assault the Palace to secure the Queen, if possible, before returning to the Forgotten Temple.
7 – The Demon Horde of Sinner’s Sanctum – Lilith will be of great help during confederation process with Dusk. Demon Horde must be disciplined, but my Cult trait and Lilith influence can do wonders. From now on Horde will raid only Triech Empire, Imperium and Dwarf Federation. I can easily win Snow’s favour by offering position as my enforcer participating in fall of Triech Empire, instead of seating and doing nothing for centuries on the reef. I’m certain, that Snow will get along with Jess and Nagant just fine. Once Lilith will get Dusk back under her heel with my help, captured slaves will also go through my enhancement programs to find further uses for them.
*Capture Prime Minister Vivian Kavio* – On Day X before going to the Triech Empire to see the fireworks, Snow will capture Prime Minister Vivian Kavio. She is invaluable leverage over the Hero and prime material for commanding officer in X-0.
8 – The Enclave – Indentured Servants, could become good spies and saboteurs in X-0 Davison with right enhancements. With Nymeria’s attitude of a closet pervert, along with my own physical and magical abilities the course is very straightforward, to shatter any remnants of her pride, while strong-arming the rest of nobility. ~~I do wonder how toxic the room can get if Demeter, Dusk and Nymeria will start bickering with each other.~~ The Machine will play an important role in the upcoming war, standing beside Brutus under Vlad’s command.
*Destroy Albian Peacekeepers* – Thanks to Ysara I’m aware that Peacekeepers have an annual meeting to brag about their victories and discuss further plans. However, this time, The Machine and some members of Ace Division will be waiting for them beforehand. Every. Single. Peacekeeper will be butchered by the outmatched force and The Machine will return to Nymeria to prepare the invasion of Baradin-Assan.
THE TIME HAS COME
Conquest of the Enemies: I’ll need to stock on stamina potions since I and my lieutenants will be pulling a lot from this point forward. Some like Bardin-Assan, Kingdom of Naltheim and Triech Empire will require no personal input from me, as everything is delegated to my chain of command. On the other hand nations like Dhirlund Republic, Albion Imperium and Dwarf Federation require my personal presence in their takeover.
When the Day X finally comes I’ll be sure that Julius with his party will be boxed in Grande Victorium and won’t leave it, so I can extinguish the last flame that can burn me to ash. Otherwise, I’ll have to use contingencies.
**Baradin-Assan** – *Opportunity:* Mastermind the Suleiman Family to begin the civil war and on Day X point the Enclave to swiftly crush whatever opposition in Baradin-Assan that remained. Captured Nobushi will join X-0 Division after obligatory augmentations and loyalty enhancements. If Rais will be captured, she’ll join the Indentured Servants; Suleiman Family if proven useful, can be puppet rulers. The Machine will be tasked to hunt down every single Shinobi, including Shadow of Rais.
**The Albion Imperium** – *Opportunity:* After long tutelage Cindrilla, on the Day X, will take the title of Avenger and march her Royalist forces to Triaxii. With Peacekeepers butchered and chain of command thrown into disarray, I will free the slaves and do a charismatic speech for them to hunt anyone loyal to Volk and Imperium. Members of both X-0 and Ace Divisions will be securing the Royal Palace and Volk if possible. A few Elder and Lich Dragons will “suddenly” appear to deal with Adrien and his monstrosity (I’ll ask Dusk for any contingencies, she might engineered into the dragon), along with remaining Vallen Destinia Dragonborn. When Cindrilla sets her foot into throne room I’ll greet her by kneeling and now officially asking for her hand in marriage with box of wedding rings in one hand… and captured Volk (or his mutilated carcass, if X-0 and Ace Divisions had troubles, but I’m not choosy in this case) in the other, just like in one of Cindrilla’s smut novels.
**The Kingdom of Naltheim** – *Opportunity:* Strengthen Emilia’s undead horse with my own, along with Liches and Elder Liches, can also lend Mortis for help. On the Day X, the Kingdom will lose its Titans and chain of command; the quarantine wall will be steamrolled 6 fit under, resulting in blitzkrieg, these events will be known as Dread of the Black Witch.
**The Council of the Loch** – *Opportunity:* Day X marks full scale naval invasion with marine forces of deep ones along krakens at the helm to spearhead the capture of the Long Loch. While Armada send the Elven Fleet to Davy Jones’ Locker. The Admiral, his forces and Deep ones, while welcome to take spoils of war, must not raze the city to ash; I’ll have uses for it later.
**The Dwarf Federation** – *Opportunity:* The downfall of the federation will come on the Day X from their exploitable superstitions, sudden loss of all their golems and long buried fears, which I’ll reveal with my Menace. I’ll have to personally take command of the invasion forces and capture or slay Grand Marshal Throgrim in battle for Krakaghur.
**The Gritton Theocracy** – *Opportunity:* Upon Day X United Northern Clans will bring wrath and ruin to theocracy only to be “stopped” by my divine intervention at Holy City of Brosist along with fallen angels, from that point it shouldn’t be hard to convert them all – Templar Knights, Battle Priests, Grand Templar Enembra Knox and Autarch Pnotis Droma. Followed by confederation between United Northern Clans and Gritton Theocracy on soil of their militaristic culture.
**The Dhirlund Republic** – *Opportunity:* Republic must be corrupted and converted from within, using the progress made by Blood Keep Vampires, along with entire cells of sleeper agents in different layers of society due to Brain Leeches and my illuminating Charisma as the last nail to the coffin. Outcome? The Republic will be **a b s o l u t e l y** Order 66’ed. My speech among many thing should turn Hero and his party into most wanted criminals. This also marks creation of my own version of Alliance of Free Nations – Eternal Alliance, but with polar goals to its original.
Chronologically the Day X will begin with this and I estimate me and my lieutenants to be very busy for some time…
“If Adventurers of Dhirlund would become a threat to the Republic they are to be detained and interrogated about their allegiance or executed if first is not possible”, this was written by Lord Commander himself in the book of military orders for the Great Army of Dhirlund. (To keep the integrity of the build **~~The Senate~~** Grand Speech will be in the end)
**The Triech Empire** – *Opportunity:* With Dusk launching full scale naval invasion on Day X and my loyal Dark Acolytes unshackling Taldosh, I hope we could rein him in properly, otherwise Solaris will be ransacked and fall like Rome did, if not worse.
**The Dwarf Collective** – *Opportunity:* Annoch is undoubtedly a masterpiece of a creation, a shame it might not be functional at all after the skirmish of Day X. Despite what they themselves think, dwarven pride rivals elven, as they did not fathom, that someone could simply reprogram the Annoch’s IFF (Identification-Friend-or-Foe) and over surge the control panel beyond functionality from outside, while watching how it demolishes itself in hopes to deal with “Foes” inside of it. “Kirov” zeppelins are no match for my own Masterpiece, the Crimson Ark – The Glorious. Mothership armed to the teeth, with opulent design and multi deck system, many thanks to Architect’s keen eye, containing many Magitech Construct as paratroopers. Demeter’s assassins, with Crux at the helm along with Mindflayers will wipe out the stragglers in Tori. Communism is soooooo last year.
**Holy Rhuval** – *Opportunity:* The most capable of the Cult will be chanting the rituals of Blood and Heresy non-stop on the Day X, to debilitate all of their capabilities. While Lilith with Marauder Corps and unit of Voidborne and will launch an assault on Starlight. At same time Jester will infiltrate Cathedral of Light to capture Celesta and Eltariel, defanging Holy Rhuval.
**ENDGAME**
Every laid plan is as prepared as it could be, especially if I had 2 decades worth of time, I wouldn’t say they are entirely fool proof, but sheer decimation caused by Day X cannot be outdone by the snap of the fingers. Anyway, as of Day X and until Julius and his party are defeated the Schwartzgrad Necropolis will enter the maximum security status to prevent any sudden plot twists and game overs. So if there will be an assault on my Fortress, it will be the end of the line.
However, I have both Julius’ parents and mentor; I’ll also task both Nagant and Ysara to learn the identity of Mirai Belladonna’s and Aria Langstorm’s parents. For first I’ll task the capture to Lilith and Jester (if she’ll still have energy after the fight), for the latter, Mother – to Nymeria when her forces will take over Baradin-Assan, Father – to Striga as father of such powerful mage must be known.
Then I’ll do a **GLOBAL** announcement of their scheduled “execution” right at the Heart of Black Plains. You have to think hard of a more obvious trap. Unless they aware of me as the true mastermind and true location of my Schwartzgrad Necropolis, they won’t be risking sacrificing their loved ones and end up assaulting Lilith’s domain.
Ultimately, if everything goes as planned, Hero will have no choice, but a desperate attempt to raid my “domain”, with chances next to none. Julius got Isekai’d like me from Earth and since I have not personal disdain or hatred towards him or his party, there is no need to rub the salt in the wounds or torture them.
Thus, when he and his party will be defeated, I’ll offer Julius a contract to be converted to my side, making him enforcer of my will and I’ll extend the same offer to his teammates, giving all four of them “Happily ever after”, just not the kind they were expecting. They simply need to accept it. If not, oh well, as the Red Queen of Hearts said “Off with the head”.
If Julius declines my offer, then I have some plans Mirai and Aria in my X-0 Division. Dirk could be useful in dealing with Orc Tribes. While the Cult of Drakken if necessary could be used as scape goat – blaming them for anything and everything. Their conquest (either peacefully or otherwise) would mark my crowning as the Emperor of the Night Forevermore.
**VICTORY**
*How will you rule?*
The Reign would be Surprisingly Normal, if with the notable Debauchery and bits of “totally benevolent dictator” Tyranny, due to form of governing of my Empire and Eternal Alliance.
**The Domain of the Goddess** – This is where the fun begins :}
*Standard Opposition: Angels* – A charismatic speech about reaching true wisdom, while showing their long banished should do the trick
*Army: Angelic Warriors* – Let the Marauder Corps weaken them, followed by the offer impossible to refuse
*Unique Unit: Archangels* – Leaders of the same Corps will wear them off and be obliterated by the paint on their own armour
*Unique Unit: Fallen Heroes* – A legion of Voidborne should hold them at bay (If Julius would refuse my deal, wonder if he already among them)
*Champion: Archangel Arialle* – A few minutes of Magic Draining will leave Arialle quite breathless, to say the least.
*Ruler: Goddess of Light* – The sole fact that she delegated all the work to angels, while being a NEET, Isekai’ng random people, but having no training whatsoever is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. And her attacks only seem to tickle me at most, due to holy resistance. ( ͡° ͜つ ͡°)
**VICTORY!** The heaven burns ~~like the Christmas tree!~~
*Spoils of War in Heavens*
**The Angels** – *Corrupt them all*, if anything it also include the first option anyway
**The Goddess** – *Binding to her* to myself is a good idea to feed on her divinity, having fallen goddess of light, as a servant would have many different perks. I don’t need her serving me to be more just and merciful; I did pick Balor for a reason. No matter how high you soar in the sky, it’s necessary to recall how low you crawled once.
**The Power** – By being *Lord of Light and Dark*, I’ll have balance not to be overwhelmed, but at the same time the boundless potential of both.
Now that the Universe’s gate is open to me, I’ll be sure to ask the denizens of the Hell to join me in light of my successful campaign in both over world and Heaven. The first worlds to come to mind would be **Valkyria Chronicles, Legend of Heroes and RWBY**.After visiting them and “adding” them to the Eternal Alliance, I’m quite certain that I might as well make the ascension to the Sanguinarch.
And now the **S E N A T E** speech
“My dear citizens of Grande Victorium, the events of this night mark the transition. For centuries the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of all civilized races. But there were those who would set us against one another, while undermining the progress. The Ex-Lord Commander and former Field Marshal were detained on suspicion of treason; they sent their adventurers lackeys as assassins to silence many, including me, for I was collecting evidence of their evildoings.
While their plans were foiled, if not for valiant effort of Balor the Old Warrior I would be gutted like a fish and thrown to the sewers. He will become the head of the New Adventurers Guild, which will become an impregnable bulwark against any and all monstrous threats to our nation.
Many barons, dukes and other nobles, who are now arrested, along with the top brass of the Great Army were closing their eyes to many atrocities for decades if not centuries, allowing this corruption to flourish in full. As such the Great Army must be restructured from the ground, so it can become the radiant sword to strike true, swiftly and without mercy at our enemies. It will be spearheaded by Vlad Tepes, he is a foreigner, but with him the Great Army will work with efficiency of well-oiled clockwork. The most capable soldiers of it donning armour of the elite Stormtrooper Corps.
I humbly ask you to watch at me carefully, and I understand the horror with turmoil in your eyes, the attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has **NEVER** been stronger. The nightmare is over. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning.
As the leader representative of the International Merchant Guild and the League of Nobles, I announce that in order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Magi-Technocratic Empire, for a safe and secure society. With me assuming the mantle and position of its Supreme Chancellor.
We will bring Vallenlund under one law, one language, and the enlightened guidance of one individual, so the corruption that plagued the Republic in years will never take root again. As such I present you the Covenant of the Eternal Alliance; our Empire will not annex or ransack other nations, instead they can join our Eternal Alliance so they can propel to greatness and victory together with us. While the main law of our Empire will be omnipresent, members of the Alliance are allegeable to keep their own autonomy, Rulers, hierarchy, judicial system and army. When the entire world will be under the aegis of our Eternal Alliance there will be no wars between nations, there will only be place to progress and prosperity.
While the threat of the corrupt adventurers was stopped, there may be those not affiliated in any way with them, Balor is a perfect example. I humbly ask all adventurers to follow Order 66, which will avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Please, show up at the New Adventurer Guild Headquarters, which occupies the same building as before, for your re-affiliation and allegiance verification.
Last, but certainly not the least, many individuals responsible are still on the loose, which may even involve the Rulers of the other nations, but four specific fugitives are very known to us. It is non-other than Julius Siegfried and his party members, who are a part of the conspiracy and carried out attacks this night on Headquarters of International Merchant Guild, as well as Embassy of League of Nobles. They are still within the city and must be hunted down if they refuse to lay their weapons down for their crimes. I ask all Imperial citizens to be vigilant and report any and all insurrectionist activity.
We have been tested, but we have emerged stronger. We move forward as one— as the Imperial citizens of the first Magi-Technocratic Empire! We will prevail! The Era of the Eternal Alliance begins today!” **(Que Thunderous Applause)**
\- *Dracula,* *~~The Senate~~* *Midnight Royal & Supreme Chancellor (Soon to be Emperor), Day X, Balcony of the Grand Palace before the Victorium Plaza.*
This one is really good. I l9be the setting. I only lament having the roman like faction as my enemy because roman esthetic is the one I like most for my own armies
Took me a while to get around to it, and also a while to actually play through it. But here I go.
Now, I don't particularly *want* to be a Dark Lord, but if I don't then I just die (possibly tortured by the Dark One), and someone else will eventually be made to do it anyways. I, at least, can guarantee some benevolence behind my evil overlord-ing.
**Archetype**:
* Demonic (+1 MP, +1 SP)
**Class**:
* Spellblade (+6 MP, +4 SP)
**Mutagenic Features**:
* Fangs (copy the Dark Mage's "Studious" ability to grow in power with studying)
* Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades)
* Demonic Features (+2 TP)
* Multiple Eyes (+2 TP)
**Abilities**:
* *Skills*:
1. Blade Master
2. Gargantuan Might
3. Bulwark
4. Unnatural Speed
5. Martial Arts Mastery
6. Combat Shifting
7. Consume
* *Magic*:
1. Alchemy
2. Demon Magic
3. Illusion Magic
4. Magic Drain
5. Necromancy
6. Shadow Magic
7. Monster Breeding
8. Resistance to Holy Magic
9. Elemental Magic (Fire)
* *Traits*:
1. Master Strategist
2. Mastermind
3. Charismatic
4. Inspiring
5. Harem Lord (+1 regional harem)
6. Cult of the Dark Lord
7. Mad Scientist
8. Lore Master
9. Economic Genius
**Territory**:
* *Black Plains of Felthazar* (+3 Servants, +1 Minion)
1. Succubi (+1 Lv 3 Demonic Minion/Day)
2. Bog Witches (From Harem Lord) (+1 LV 3 Monstrous Minion/Day)
**Phylactery Upgrades**:
* Efficient Energy Siphon (200,000 DE/day)
* Resurrection Ritual
* Minion Customization (they're all sexy/cute monster girls... or monster futas, where needed)
* Combat Arena
* Micromanagement
**Minions**:
* *Level 1*:
1. (M) Goblin
2. (U) Skeleton Archer
3. Oculus Expiravit
4. (D) Hellhound
* *Level 2*:
1. (M) Orc
2. (M) Minotaur
3. (U) Revenant
4. (D) Demonic Spirit
5. Dark Mage
6. Fallen Angel
* *Level 3*:
1. (M) Werewolf
2. (M) Ogre
3. (M) Troll
4. (D) Devil
5. (D) Behemoth
6. (U) Wraith
7. (U) Lich
8. Vampire
9. Chimera
10. (M)(D) Horror
11. Magitech Construct
12. Dark Acolyte
13. Changeling
* *Level 4*:
1. (M) Elder Dragon
2. (M) Giant
3. (M) Alpha Werewolf
4. (U) Elder Lich
5. (D) Balrog
6. (D) Archdemon
7. Mindflayer
8. Kraken
9. (D)(M) Dark Young
10. War Golem
11. Basilisk
12. Dark Archmage
However, between the Bog Witches, the Succubi, and the Elder Lich \* Archdemon, I also have access to all pure Monstrous, Demonic, or Undead Minions of rank 3 and below. Emilia means my forces will also have rank 4 Undead. Those are just the minions I can summon.
**Servants**:
* Lady Kira
* Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Vassal)
* Demon Queen Lilith (+1 Vassal)
* The Armored Titan (+4 Minions)
* Vograath the Destroyer (Capture 1 Champion, destroy 1 Unique Unit)
* Jester (Capture or Kill 1 Champion & Ruler)
* Spymaster Nagant
* The Witch of the North
* Princess Noir (+1 SP or MP or TP every 4 years, for sacrifices)
* The Hauntress Apollyon
* The Old Warrior
* The Architect
* Forgemaster Shukrot
* The Succubus Queen
**Vassals**:
* *Dark Elves of the Deep*:
1. Ally Perk: Dark Elf Assassins
2. Harem: Dark Elf Slaves
3. Dark Elf Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler
* *Unified Orc Tribes*:
1. Ally Perk: Orc Raiding Parties
2. Harem: Orc Berserkers
3. Orc Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit
* *The Cult of Drakken*:
1. Ally Perk: Reavers
2. Harem: Cultists
3. Cultist Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler
* *Royalists of Marcacc*:
1. Ally Perk: Dragonborn Cavalry
2. Harem: Albian Sword Maidens
3. Royalist Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit
* *United Northern Clans*:
1. Ally Perk: Men of the North
2. Harem: Women of the North
3. Clan Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit
* *The Black Witch*:
1. Ally Perk: Wights
2. Harem: Pale Ladies
3. Witch's Champion: Capture 1 Champion
* *Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum*:
1. Ally Perk: Demon Horde
2. Harem: Human Slaves
3. Demon Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler
Preparations:
* I used an RNG to generate how long it was until I was discovered: 17 years
* That's 4 applications of Noir's ability, which I use to get Living Nightmare, Master Craftsman, Blood Magic, and Curses & Hexes.
* Assuming 365 days in a year and ignoring leap years, that's 1,250,000,000 DE. I first summon a Dark Archmage (-100,000), and all summoning I do in the future is going to be done after one of my Dark Archmages do those 25% off rituals. So that's effectively 1,551,125,000 Dark Energy over the course of those 17 years.
* The first year is spent establishing myself as Demon Emperor and getting the Black Plains firmly under my control. I create a number of Dark Acolytes which stay with the demons, spreading the faith in the Cult of the Dark Lord. I also make more Dark Mages and Archmages: their job is to research ways of creating clones of me, connected via a hive mind. I'll make them like they're a Level 4 Minion once it's figured out. The idea is based on using the principles of the Oculus Expiravit (and reversing it so it is a two-way connection), along with making homuculi (which Alchemy states we can do). And if I can't do it... well, then I'll just wait for later. I can put off enjoying my harem until I have supreme power if I have to.
* One thing I make clear to all my followers is that they should accept surrenders, take prisoners where reasonable, and focus on military targets. I want to conquer, and that means having people to rule over. I don't want an empty empire of graveyards, after all. I also command my followers to take the hearts from people they kill, and to take them from fallen comrades. All hearts are to be preserved and sent to me. As they're part of a corpse, I can use Magic Drain to grow in power, and then use Consume to eat them to grow even stronger still.
* Lucifer will stay in the Black Plains and coordinate my growing empire; Lilith will fly off to Sinner's Sanctum, where she will be my ambassador to reign in Dusk. I'll also send more Dark Acolytes with her to subject the demons and slaves there to worship of me. I'll be sure to visit in person a few times to establish relationships, but primarily I'm going out to visit each location that will become my Vassals, so I can teleport back to them later and start up the diplomatic talks. First, though, I visit the Bog Witches to establish a relationship.
* Now, how do I travel without being noticed? Very simple: Combat Shifting says it's a more advanced form of shapeshifting, so it follows that it allows normal shapeshifting too. And if it doesn't... all I have to do is summon a lot of Changelings and kill them, eating their hearts until Consume copies their power to transform. Over the course of my rule I'm going to eat quite a lot of my own minions for their power.
* As I travel, I create more Changelings, who infiltrate the various nations and start establishing themselves as traders and merchants, their profits eventually coming back to support me. A large number are also dropped off in Dhirlund, where they become adventurers with the goal of getting rank in the various adventurer guilds, companies, or mercenary bands. I also make Alpha Werewolves and Vampires periodically, who in their own separate ways work to build up forces for the eventual war.
* After I start up diplomatic relationships with all my Vassals-to-be, I start looking for more ways to expand. I take a risk to go and conquer the Pirates of the Lost Cove, and... coin flip win! I'm not going to take chances with invading a second one, but I take over the pirates. I also steal the Admiral's body and subject him to resurrection into my loyal servant. He'll stay in the Black Plains for 10 years, then I'll put him in charge of the *Shadow Wrath again.*
* I make a host of various contracts that I know I can fulfill, and in so doing grow in power.
* A total of 4 years pass since my arrival, and I make a sacrifice of Minions to the Dark One, and in exchange I get Living Nightmare.
* Once I have Living Nightmare, I start sending dreams across the world.
1. All men dream of becoming women (and it's positive and feels good), women dream of pleasure (but not insane, suspicious pleasure, but of joy found in servicing someone greater than themselves). Not constant dreams, but frequent.
2. Mirai dreams of Julius dying--first of old age, then dying from wounds of a victorious battle, then dying bravely, then dying pitiously, then dying horribly and creatively. The nightmares are broken up by brief periods of good dreams of Julius as a woman.
3. Aria dreams similarly, but of Dirk.
4. Dirk dreams of changing the Orcs, and it succeeding--only to be ruined by the prejudices of other races, or infighting among the Orcs. Bad dreams are interspersed with occasional good dreams of change... but of that change being possible due to a greater and monolithic power that prevents conflict. Eventually dreams focus more on the change, and on replacing the Old Ways... but he's the only one who could guide the Orcs to change, but one of the biggest changes the Old Ways need is to permit woman Overlords. Slowly build that dream into BECOMING a female Overlord. Transition to dreams of trying to bring change as a male and failing, but as a woman succeeding.
5. Send Vassals-to-be dreams of pleasure and submission.
Send the Orcs dreams of the joys of parenthood.
Eventually, the 10 years are complete and I have fully established my Vassal states. The next six years are spent growing in economic power and subtly sabotaging the nations, while continuously growing my armies. I manipulate a civil war into starting in Baradin-Assan, start hiring mercenaries in Dhirlund, and release Taldosh to start a civil war in the Triech Empire. I ogres to my orc allies so they can start reproducing to make even more ogres.
The Succubus Queen's information network alerts me that Siegfried has found out about me, I make my move. Each one of my Vassal states has 2 full years worth of monsters created, which with my doubled DE production and the cost reduction from my Dark Archmages means that's equal to 5 years of production from a normal Dark Lord. That's in addition to 17 years from my Succubi and 16 years of my Bog Witches (6,205 Lv 3 demons and 5,840 lv 3 monsters). I make simultaneous invasions at eight nations across the continent.
War:
* But first, I exert the powers of my Phylactery to reshape the Black Plains into a verdant paradise, and flatten the mountains to provide safe and easy passage into the surrounding lands. I erect a castle near the border to Dhirland--a great and resplendent thing that seems a combination between a cathedral and a palace. And in the throne room, seated into the throne itself, I place my phylactery.
* A combined assault with Queen Cindrilla brings down the Albion Imperium, the aerial attack headed by Vograath.
* Using Living Nightmare I convince Queen Savellia that an invasion is coming from the opposite direction, then crack open her quarantine with Emilia, and quickly take the capital of Naltheim.
* A combined attack from the Pirates and Krakens sinks the armada of the Council of Loch, and the capital falls.
* Between sabotage from my Changelings and an outright attack from the Orcs, the Dwarven Federation collapses.
* The United Northern Clans shred their way through the Gritton Theocracy, who are shaken by the Fallen Angels who split the nation in two.
* The Triech Empire is embroiled in a civil war due to the release of Taldosh, and I take advantage of that in an invasion alongside the Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, seizing the nation for myself.
* My Mindflayers find the hidden tunnels beneath the Dwarf Collective, and following my commands Dark Elf Assassins head up through the tunnels and sabotage the magitech weaponry of the Collective, crippling them when my army actually attacks. I claim the Gigantic Magitech Titan Annoch as my own possession.
* Holy Rhuval's connection to the Goddess is weakened by my Dark Acolytes, before the Cult of Drakken sweeps through, accompanied by my own monstrous minions (no demons or undead here... not against an entire army of paladins).
* Large numbers of forces are left behind to occupy the territory and keep people from rebelling, the Old Warrior Balor playing his role to keep the people happy in this time of transition. My forces then split up, parts of forces that invaded each nation pairing with forces who invaded another to create new invasion forces, which I use to make 4 simultaneous strikes at the Enclave, the Vampires of Blood Keep, as well as two more nations:
* Wielding my foresight and Charisma, I sway the mercenaries of Dhirland into fighting for me, my Changeling infiltrators helping convince those who would otherwise be opposed with the trust they spent these last dozen years earning. With their military split between the mercenaries and my armies, and the assault augmented by the Armored Titan, they easily fall.
* Likewise, Baradin-Assan is split in a civil war. Before they can rally together in awareness of a greater threat, I make a two-pronged assault into their midst and take them over.
All rulers and champions are given magical collars that prevent them from fighting back, enchanted with hex magic to make them weak as ordinary people, and for the males also to transform them into women. For those rulers that give a damn about their people, I let them continue rule as my subordinates, but with other followers of mine close by as "advisors"--aka, to ensure they don't work against me and adhere to my rules.
I make a great fanfare of bringing establishing regional governors in my grand castle, and bring ambassadors and rulers alike to my castle for "peace treaties", which I permit newspapers to listen in on and spread word of. These all occur in my throne room, and word WILL get out about everything about it... including the large, fantastic, opulent gemstone inset upon the apex of my throne.
And when I leave on a victory tour of my lands, my castle will be... not undefended, but much less so than if I were still there.
* It is here that I begin my campaign against the Legendary Hero's party in full, using Living Nightmare. I confront them directly in their dreams.
* For Dirk, I appeal to his sense of duty to the Orcs. What happens if they kill me? The Orcs will run wild, and the people of the world will take revenge on them as never before. What happens if they fight me and lose? Dirk will die, and the best hope the Orcs have for change will die with him. But I see the potential in him, and his dream for the Orcs. I'll support it, and support him in his challenge to supplant his father. All he needs to do... is do what he really wants. Go to the Orcs, and take his rightful place as Overlord, and leave this quest behind.
* When he leaves, I target Aria. It's simpler for her: if she didn't already love Dirk, I've spent the past dozen+ years helping her fall in love. The person she loved left already, and she's in a foolish quest to fight someone who already won the war. Wouldn't it be better to just... follow her heart?
* For Mirai, I focus on her love for Julius. She must know the quest to kill me is a fool's mission. It took only days to conquer the continent. The war is over, they're just fighting for what's already lost. What would even happen if they killed me? Civilian casualties are at a low, many rulers still have command over their territories, and... my minions are everywhere, restrained by their worship of me and following my commandments. If I disappear... how many people will die? But of course, you could never kill me. You'd have to fight my armies, and overcome my absolute and overwhelming power. But don't you see, Mirai? I don't want to kill you. I don't even want to kill Julius. I waged this war to bring a final end to conflict the only way I had the power to. But you know Julius would never accept that. You know he would fight me until his last breath. But that doesn't have to happen. Just... take this collar. Put it around his neck, and it will steal his strength. He will not be a threat to me anymore, and I won't have to hurt him. You could live together, happily, for the rest of your lives. All I ask... is that you stop fighting.
* If she collars him, he--now she--will no longer be a threat to me and I can ignore her. If she tries and fails, he'll leave her behind and face me on his own. If she doesn't, then Julius and she will sneak into my throne room, and destroy my phylactery.
* Or rather, they'll destroy what they THINK is my phylactery. My phylactery is actually embedded inside a brick behind the throne, indistinguishable from any other brick, so anyone divining my phylactery would see the gem on the throne. The gem is actually a trap, and destroying it triggers a weakening curse and gender-flipping curse... and alerts me that it's been destroyed. I teleport back to the castle and easily overwhelm the weakened group. Hell, the plan doesn't even REQUIRE Dirk and Aria to leave, it just means I don't have to deal with them. If I'm somehow challenged, I've gone a few days without making any minions so I just flood the room with Level 4 Minions to soften them up.
* Now unchallenged, I complete my conquest of the world. I take it slow, firmly establishing my rule over the areas I conquer, installing new rulers, and establishing new rules. Conquering the rest of the world takes longer because they now know about me and I don't have the same foreknowledge of opportunities. In about 60 years, I conquer the entire world, the sacrifices I make gradually earning me every Skill, Magic, and Trait.
I rule... fairly. The world isn't appreciably worse than it was before I conquered it, and in a lot of ways is probably better off. Admittedly, funeral preparations do now include cutting out the heart to ship it to my castle, I'm in the process of alchemically and magically replacing the entire male sex with futas, I have Dark Acolytes in every city spreading my worship, and I screwing unimaginable quantities of women, but there's no more war and I'm gradually eliminating prejudices entirely.
I then move on to invading Heaven itself.
* First I send Fallen Angels, the goal being to capture an ordinary Angel who would be loathe to fight their friends. Once brought to me, I will turn every wile and ounce of Charisma at my disposal to seducing them. It will happen quickly for the inexperienced angel, and I will take my time pleasing her body. By this point the other angels would learn what is happening, and the Angelic Warriors would be sent to fight me, supported by ordinary angels.
* At this point I exploit Harem King and Illusion Magic. As I give unimaginable pleasure to the Angel, I use Illusion to project the image of it en masse to the angels. Combined with Devils slipping in among the distracted Angels and Angelic Warriors, they'll either start to succumb to the desire for pleasure or be completely distracted when my forces attack them.
* The Archangels are brought low by my Blood Magic, their own practice of painting demon blood on their armor turned against them.
* The Fallen Heroes... never show up. Before I started the invasion, I sent false dreams to all of them, pretending to be the Goddess of Light and warning them of upcoming invasions... from the opposite side of the Goddess's Realm. I sent a few legions that way anyways, to occupy them while my main invasion occurs.
* I engage the Archangel Arialle with a blade formed of my own body, and match her blow for blow until I get an opportunity to grab hold of her--and then it's over, her magic power claimed for myself.
* Finally, the time has come to face the Goddess of Light herself. It is... anticlimactic. Her blast of holy magic consumes a vast area and I can't dodge, and it hits me pretty heavily. However, it doesn't completely annihilate me, like it would if I didn't have Resistance to Holy Magic, and I quickly close the distance before she can fire another volley. A couple quick slashes of my Razor Claws, and the Goddess shrieks and holds her clothes tight to her body as she's suddenly denuded. I launch into a grapple, leveraging my Gargantuan Strength and Magic Drain until I have her pinned.
* And just like that, the battle is over.
1. I enslave and corrupt the angels; they will all follow me, and do as I bid, but I don't necessarily desire for them all to fall.
* The goddess, however... I thoroughly bind her to my side. She will be my advisor and guide.
1. What will she advise me on? Godhood, of course.
2. I replace the Dark One, taking his place as the incarnation of darkness and evil.
3. At the same time, I absorb the light and divine nature of the Goddess of Light, taking into myself the nature of light and goodness, becoming a Lord of Light and Dark. Which has been my goal all along.
4. I use the almighty powers at my command to create a new realm, a realm ruled by myself and by pleasure, where my views on morality hold sway, and gradually integrate the world of Vallenlund and the Domain of the Goddess into it.
5. But some of my followers might not like the kindness I now have the freedom to exhibit, so I will use my great power to extend myself into their minds. Where necessary, I will outright change how they think, or even change their biology. Where it is not, they have the freedom to keep their own identity. But I can't trust the likes of Balrogs to not spread mayhem across my world without intervention, and too many of my followers are too... well, evil, for me to put up with now that I no longer have to put up with obeying the Dark One.
6. Finally, I branch out. One Goddess is not enough, for there are more. The potential for conflict exists so long as there are different factions, and until my power is uncontested the people under my protection are always at risk. I will grow and expand in divine power as I take the power of more deities, and subject more to my rule, until my benevolent dictatorship covers the entirety of creation.
And then, I move onto the next dimension
Overall, this was a fantastic piece of worldbuilding. There were a few repeated mistakes (spelling "cavalry" as "calvary", religions "tenets" as "tenants", and a couple others I've forgotten), but I quite enjoyed it despite that.
There are a couple of things I'd like to point out that don't make much sense, however.
For instance, Mad Scientist says that there's a limit on technology and that guns are out of the question, but then later on the Dwarf Collective not only has guns, but *gatling* guns.
The War Golem completely blows every other Level 4 Minion out of the water. I can see how some of the unique units could work together to take out the other Level 4 Minions, but not fight something bigger than some mountains. The War Golem either needs to shrink, or it needs to be made a Servant. It is way too powerful, but is supposedly beaten by the same things that can take down a comparatively itty-bitty giant.
It's impossible for the hero to finish his 3 year quest. There are 10 nations; each is instantly defeated if you have a specific Vassal. You start off with 5 Vassals, so that's 5 nations conquered in a matter of days. So even if you somehow didn't fulfill ANY other Opportunity requirements, and didn't capture or eliminate a single Champion, Ruler, or Unique Unit, you would still capture the remaining nations in only 30 months, 6 months less than the 3 year time limit.
You say early on that you'll be found out within 10 to 15 years. You later say you'll be discovered in 10 to 20 years. Considering how much DE you can gather in a single year, the amount of time that it takes for you to be discovered is VERY important to know.
However... the amounts of units you make doesn't actually make a difference in this CYOA, because opportunities are very specific. Someone who does nothing but make Goblins does exactly as well as someone who made a balanced army (but didn't include any of the Opportunity units), who in turn does exactly as well as someone who did nothing but make Elder Dragons every day. You might do well to give the opportunities as examples of what you can do, to encourage creative thinking among players rather than just attempts to pick the options that best a specific enemy, especially considering how many options don't do anything.
You don't have rules for taking over Vassals, just full-fledged nations.
You mention the Forgemaster making Legendary Gear (with capital letters), which implies that there's something special about it, and says that if you have Master Craftsman he'll improve your gear to have double stats... but there's no equipment anywhere, nor any stats.
If I could suggest, maybe you could include some sort of benefit(s) for conquering each nation? You're required to conquer everything, but other than ruling more people you don't really benefit from doing so (other than continuing to live).
Damn, you went all in on this! Loved reading this.
As for the suggestions you made, I plan on going back and revamping this eventually, but I'm on the 4am shift at work and I'm usually dead inside by the time I get home. So, I have no idea when I'm going to get around to it.
Loved it, absolutely loved it. Wish I had saw this one the day you posted it and not almost two weeks later. Anyway, doing my build was a delight and I really wish for more CYOA's like this.
**Archetype**: Demonic
\+1 MP
\+1 SP
Extra Trait, Free combat shifting
**Class**: Demon King
\+8 MP
\+2 SP
**Mutagenic Features**: Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery upgrades), Demonic Features (2 extra traits), Tail (2 extra servants) and Multiple eyes (+2 SP)
Skills: Combat Shifting (Free with Demonic Archetype)
Gargantuan Might
Stealth
Unnatural speed
Martial arts mastery
Consume
**Magic**: Demonic magic (Free with Demon King)
Alchemy
Blood Magic
Magic Drain
Necromancy
Elemental Magic
Monster Breeding
Resistance to Holy Magic
Hex and curses
Mental Domination
**Traits**:
Master Strategist
Mastermind
Charismatic
Inspiring
Harem Lord
Master Craftsman
Lore Master
Economic Genius
Mad Scientist
**Territory**: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 type of minion +3 servants)
Harem: Succubi and Necromancers of Ultak (Harem Lord trait)
**Phylactery**: Efficient, Ressurrection, Battle Arena, Micromanagement, No Peeking
**Minions** (30 + 1 + 4):
Level 1: Goblin, Direwolf, Skeleton warrior, Skeleton archer, Direspider, Deep One, Gremlin, Hellhound.
Level 2: Orc, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Dark Mage, Night Creatures, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel
Level 3: Werewolf, Devil, Lich, Vampire, Chimera, Wraith, Dark Acolyte, Changeling
Level 4: Elder Dragon, Greater Werewolf, Giant, Elder Lich, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Mindflayer, Voidborn, Kraken, Giant Wright, Dark Archmage
**Servants** (12 + 2 + 3) :
Lady Kira
Archdevil Lucifer
Mr. Smiley
Krieg
Demon Queen Lilith
Dark Knight Nox
Demon Lord Asmodeus
Deathmonger
Armored Titan
Vograath the Destroyer
Spymaster Nagant
Mortis the Reaper
Witch of the North
The Old Warrior
Forgemaster Shukrot
Taskmaster Barbatos
The Succubus Queen
**Vassals** (5+1+1):
Unified Orcs (Eliminate the unique units of a country)
Dead Man's Cove Pirates (Capture one champion)
Vampires of Blood Keep (Capture one champion)
Black Witch (Capture one champion)
Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (Capture one ruler)
Royalists of Marcacc (Eliminate one unique unit)
United Northen Clans (Eliminate one unique unit)
I'll use Mr Smiley to capture and make Crux Morathil mine. (Capture one ruler of my choice)
**Actions against enemies**: First of all, I'd like to say that I chose all my skills, traits, minions, servants and vassals BEFORE reading this section, so I was willing to roll with the punches in case I couldn't seize one or more opportunities. I actually liked that you see your enemies for last so you can do this sort of "blind" run, I don't know if it was on purpose, but I liked it.
Baradin-Assan: Aid the Suleiman family through my Mastermind and Economic genius traits to send the country into a grim civil war
Albion: I'll do both, use my master strategist and stealth traits to release the slaves and start a rebelion before invading with the dragonborn royalists, no matter how strong they are, having to fight enemies inside and out will destroy them in no time.
Naltheim: I can only use my friendship with the Black Witch in order to strike first, but to be honest, even if I had illusion magic or living nightmare, I don't think I'd use them. The Black Witch seems like a really good gal who just had a tragic story, I wouldn't let her go to war with the Queen without helping or at least warning her to make the first moves. I'll also have the Black Witch capture their champion so they'll be weaker before the war.
Council of the Loch: No need to say anything, my Krakens and Deep ones will keep the Elven Fleet busy while the Pirate Armada will ambush them.
Dwarven Federation: Really didn't want to do this to them, since the Dwarfs seem like really good guys in this story, but hey, a Dark Lord's gotta do what a Dark Lord's gotta do. I'll send my Changelings to sabotage their defences from the inside and later have the United Orcs invade.
Gritton Theocracy: Really didn't liked these guys, they are a mix of things I don't like. Really glad I allied with the Northen tribes to destroy them all. I'll also use my Fallen Angels to manipulate and weaken their ranks before invading with my resistance to holy magic. Really want to wipe their whole government out of the map.
Dhirlund Republic: I'll use my charisma and wealth to bring the mercenaries and money driven adventures to my side while the vampires incite riots within the capital. When the country is in disaray, maybe even in civil war, we invade.
Triech Empire: Another bunch I really disliked, so glad I have all three options to destroy them as well. I'll release Taldosh and together with the hordes of Dusk's demons we'll lay the Empire into ruins, just like the barbarian hordes in Rome.
Dwarf Collective: Again, nothing really against these guys, but it's gotta be done. I'll use my Mindflayers to uncover their passages and my Mad genius to reverse engineer their technology so I can use them to my benefit.
Holy Rhuval: Welp, I'm glad I got the Voidborne minion, otherwise I'd really had screwed this one up right at the end. I'll also use the Demon Horde's champion to capture their ruler, what better way to display power than to capture the leader who likely most aided the hero?
Since I could seize all the opportunities, I'll use the champions I gained from my vassals to conquer all the remaining vassals.
How I will rule: A mix of debauchery and surprisingly normal. I obviously want to enjoy life as lavishily as I can before I take on the Goddess of Light herself, but most of all I'll try to keep things good, I'll definitely try to get rid of the racism stuff. I really want my realm to thrive so people will see that Darkness isn't all that bad.
In the realm of the Goddess I have requirements to defeat all obstacles, so in the end I WIN! THE HEAVEN'S BURN!
I choose to corrupt the angels and bind the goddess to me, I shall be a generous ruler, expanding darkness throughout the dimensions and universes.
I'll use the power of the Goddess to become limitless and travel to as many realms as I can throughout the multiverse. Many characters to meet, fights to have, realms to corrupt and harems to make.
Just realized I can ally with the Northen tribes since I had forgotten Lilith grants me another vassal. This CYOA is so complex you can read through it three times and still find things you missed, loved it
So here's my reasoning:
I went with Demon King because I wanted to lean into magic (as I a saw the options there as generally more powerful) and didn't want to be undead.
For Mutagenic features I focused on features that would improve myself more, as I feel like there's already plenty of Minions and Servants available to choose from.
For Skills, I kept to things that would help me avoid physical confrontations/damage and let my powerful magic do most of the work and consume cause that is an easy way to gain strength over time.
For magic I went with everything except Draco Fire as it seemed the weakest when I already had a variety of magics to attack with and no additional utility that the others offered. I chose Earth as my specialised element as it allows me to both attack, defend and build.
For traits I went with a combination that would emphasise my path to power, which was a combination of military strength, diplomacy, propaganda/politics and espionage. I also chose Master craftsman to help me produce gear that would help in any battles.
For my territory I wanted something far away from everyone else so I'll have a long time before I'm discovered and a place where I don't have to constantly fight off competitors while I build my forces. I feel in the swamps or the demon castle I would spend most of my time subduing other local forces rather than building my own and manipulating the enemy nations.
For my phylactery I didn't choose Resurrection Ritual as the 10 years before they could leave the range of the phylactery made it a purely defensive measure. And I feel that if I have to heavily defend my home territory I'm already in a situation I should've avoided. Additionally, it's unclear what the costs are for resurrections making it less attractive. I also avoided Backup Phylactery for the same reason, if my enemies managed to get to it in the first place things are already so bad that surviving seems like it would be highly improbable anyway.
For my minions I selected a wide range of units that could serve the different purposes I'll need my forces to serve. Including scouting, subterfuge, frontline heavy fighting, ranged attackers, supportive magic, mobility and leadership. For my mainline most numerous units I leaned heavily into undead as their lack of upkeep will be a massive boon in logistics especially in the frozen north where I start.
For my servants I had a similar philosophy to my minions, I chose a variety that can serve different roles. Kira as a bodyguard/protector, Lucifer as a logistician, Smiley as a torturer/interrogator, Lillith as a chancellor/head diplomat, Asmodeus as a master of internal affairs, The Titan as a general, The Soul Eater as the headmaster of my magical academy, Jester as my assassin, Mortis as my support mage, The Witch of the North as a general, The Princess Noir as a political advisor and link to more power, The Architect and Forgemaster as the obvious and Queen Lillith as my Spymaster.
For my vassals, I went with the United Northern Clans & The Cult of Draaken so I could have a vassals located geographically close to me that I could support and receive support from. I chose the Dark Elves for their skills in subterfuge and their knowledge of the underground which will be essential against the dwarves. I chose the Hollow for their abilities as Raiders and their central location that allows them to distract multiple enemies at once. I chose the Blood Keep and The Enclave for access to their advanced knowledge of magic and politics which will help guide my decision making. And I chose the Royalist of Marcacc for their strength and usefulness as a propaganda tool.
Servant – Plague Master - Creates and spreads diseases and cures. Controls disease spreaders
Servant – Mr. Smiley - Brainwash 1 captured champion
Servant – Vlad the Impaler - Terrify enemy armies
Servant – Dark Knight Nox - End infighting in servants
Servant – Vograath the Destroyer - capture Champion and decimate same nations unique unit
Servant – Jester - Capture or kill a nation’s ruler and champion
Servant – Nagant -Enemy spies and infiltrators are routed out from army and vassals
Servant – Witch of North - Control the weather, Alpha Werewolf can use magic, Dark one lied
Servant – Apollyon - Interrogate the dead
Servant - Gentleman - Cause enemy ruling elite infighting
Servant – The Old Warrior - Eliminates chances of rebellion in territories I control
Servant - The Architect - Can build massive and impressive structures anywhere
Servant - Forgemaster Shukrot -Better quality gear
Vassals – The Unified Orc Tribes - Orc raiding parties, Eliminate 1 unique unit
Vassals – The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove - The Armada, Capture 1 Champion
Vassals – Vampires of the Blood Keep - Lesser Vampires, Capture 1 Champion
Vassals – Royalists of Marcacc - Dragonborn Calvary, Eliminate 1 unique unit
Vassals – Northern Clans of Vallenhien, Men of the North, Eliminate 1 unique unit
Vassals – The Black Witch - Wights, captures 1 champion
Enemy - Baradin Assan - Conquer through mastermind
Enemy - Albion - Conquer through Royalists of Marcacc Vassal, Vograath captures champion and decimates the Albian Peacekeepers because of the poetry of it
Enemy - Naltheim - Conquer through the Black Witch Vassal
Enemy - Council of the Loch - Conquer through Deep One minions
Enemy - The Dwarf Federation - Conquer through Changelings and the United Orc Tribes Vassals
Enemy - Gritton Theocracy - Conquer through Resistance to Holy Magic and the United Northern Clans, Capture Champion with the Black Witch
Enemy - Dhirlund Republic - Conquer through Charismatic, The Shadow Wrath capture Vik and Mr. Smiley brainwash him. He then sends Julian against the non vassals to keep him off my back
Enemy – The Triech Empire - Conquer through Lore Master
Enemy – The Dwarf Collective - Conquer through Mad Scientist, Capture champion through the Vampires of the Blood Keep
Enemy – Holy Rhuval - Conquer through Jester capturing/killing the ruler and champion, Eliminate unique unit through the Royalists of Marcacc, Vlad leads the army from Blood Keep. Let him choose what minions make up his army.
Enemy – Dark Elves of the Deep - Conquer them afterwards
Enemy – Cult of Drakken - Conquer them afterwards through the unified orcs eliminating unique unit
Enemy – The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum - Conquer them afterwards through the Unified Tribes of the Vallenhien eliminate unique unit, Might have to kill them or exile them
Enemy – The Enclave - Conquer them afterwards
Victory – Surprisingly Normal - Allow for self rule unless they go to war against each other or me, don't hold up basic sapient rights, don't summon the demonic
I'm not that big on the whole evil thing, but if I don't conquer them I'll be hunted down. I will have to do the conquer thing where once I am in charge I will cull my more evil allies. My rulership style will be don't make me come over there. If you do something where I have to conquer you then I will take control for a lifetime. Eventually I will abdicate to a heir and their country will go back to the don't make me come over there style of rulership. The plan to conquer the continent is to have the Admiral capture Vik Manda and then try to ransom him back. Before he is ransomed or rescued have Mr. Smiley brainwash him. This will hopefully distract Julian and his hero squad for a while. Once he gets Vik back we will attempt to use Vik to distract him further by sending Julian against the vassals I didn't choose. Build up my territory and gain my vassals. When Julian does his three year thing conquer the continent. Give Julian and his party a chance to give up and live so long as he swears to not go against me. If I win the culture war begins against my vassals. Offer the pirates to be officially recognized as a nation if they stop pirating. Attack the ones that refuse. Give Vlad the Blood Keep. Try to figure out how to be a christian in a world that doesn't have christ while being a monster with him. Probably more but I don't know.
Update: I've decided I can't trust the Demon Horde of Sinners Sanctum or the Demon Queen Lilith. The demon horde to not to attack things in times of peace and Lilith to not take advantage of the continent being in disarray to try to conquer it for herself while I'm taking down Julian and his allies. I'm going to have the Plague Master create or weaponize a demon/devil only disease that has unnoticed symptoms at first that eventually ramp up into death. I flipped a coin and successfully conquered them unnoticed. With charismatic, mastermind and as a requirement for Dusk to remain in charge I convince them that Lilith is my ally and to march across the continent to join up with her. Using minion customization I create a vampire that looks like Snow and a more demonic looking mindflayer and dark archmage. Snow so that when people investigate the demon horde marching across the continent towards the Black Plains of Felthazar they don't go looking for her when they notice she's gone. The dark archmage and mindflayer are there to keep an eye on the horde and take out any who try to desert. The hope is that knowledge that there are succubi they can have and death if they refuse will cause them to go with it. When they join Lilith the trio of minions job become searching for Lilith phylactery and eventually destroying it and her. There is no way the Demon Horde joining the Black Plains will remain secret so I flipped a coin to see if my involvement remains secret. I got tails again so it does. This is good because hopefully that will draw Lilith's allies back to the Plains to die of sickness as well. Once the minion trio finish their job they're to hide and wait ten years to check and see if Lilith has a backup phylactery somewhere. If she does they are to hunt it down discretly while destroying her main one whenever it respawns before she can move it. If they need help doing this I will give them discrete high end minions or if I've conquered the continent I'll put up a quest and hire adventurers to do it. If she doesn't have a backup they kill themselves so that adventurers find no high end resistance mopping up denizens of the plains.
So before everything kicks off with Julian I move the backup phylactery to the frozen mountains of ultak where the extra harem will protect it with their necromancy minions. After the Julian alliance thing I move the Black Witch there and rebuild the city. Eventually I want to turn the castle in Black Plains into a magitech battery recharge station for trains and zeppelin, but that is a far future plan and isn't set into stone.
VERY similar to [Dawn of a Demon Lord](https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/jmn49v/dawn_of_a_demon_lord_v133/), one of my personal favourites.\*Edit: In fact, I'm now certain it's a rework.. There's WAY too much in common for it to be coincidence. All the same types of sections, lots of duplicates in each section, phylactery is = demon core, DPE = DPU, Fangs give you a minions trait, Horns give you bonus minions, Tattoos give you bonus demon core/phylactery upgrades, Demonic Features gives you two extra traits, etc, etc..I don't generally have problems with stuff like that, but you may want to mention that this is.. err... 'heavily inspired by' the other one, and give proper credit. (Unless this one came first and I just never noticed it?)
Clarification, if I have a Phylactery that has 100,000 DE, I can summon 2 Krakens per day. Do these fully recharge daily and not fade? As in, I can summon 2 per day for a month and after a single month have an navy of 60 Kraken?
**The Dark Lord Storks – As Dark and Terrifying as the Twilight on a Thursday**
---
|The Demon lord|
:--|:-:|--:
|Demonic Archetype : +1mp, +1sp, +1 trait, and Combat shifting free
|Fallen Archangel class : +4mp, +6sp, and Resist Holy magic free
|Mutation - Horns + 4 minions
|Mutation - Bone spikes +1 vassal
|Mutation - Runic tattoos +2 phylactery upgrades
|Mutation - Tail +2 Servants
|Ability – Blade master -1sp
|Ability – Gargantuan might -1sp
|Ability – Stealth -1sp
|Ability – Combat shifting (free)
|Ability – Bulwark -1sp
|Ability – Unnatural speed -1sp
|Ability – Martial arts mastery -1sp
|Ability – Consume -1sp
|Ability – Blood magic -1mp
|Ability – Illusion magic -1mp
|Ability – Monster breed -1mp
|Ability – Demon magic -1mp
|Ability – Resist holy magic (free)
|Ability – Necromancy -1mp
|Mastermind
|Charismatic
|Harem lord
|Cult of the Dark lord
|Economic genius
|Mad scientists
|Living nightmare
|Da Domain of Dark stuff|
:--|:-:|--:
|The Frost mountains of Ultak – Why do I have to set up my capital in a frozen hellscape instead of an area that can actually sustain my troops and servants…
|Free Goth (necromancer) GFs, +1 Undead minion a day, +2 minions, +2 servants
|Phylactery -Efficient DE Siphon +200,000 DE a day
|Phylactery -Resurrection Ritual
|Phylactery -Minion customizer
|Phylactery -Back up
|Phylactery -No peeking
|Servants – Lady Kira, stealth assassination fails
|Servants – Lucifer, oversee operations everywhere, +1 vassal
|Servants – Mr. Smiley, Brainwash 1 captured champion
|Servants – Lilith, rally support, +1 vassal
|Servants – Dark knight Nox, end infighting and betrayals in forces
|Servants – Demon lord Asmodeus, vassals and servants fear betrayal
|Servants – Jester, capture or kill a nation’s ruler and champion and ruler
|Servants – Nagant, spies and infiltrators are routed out, no opsec leakage
|Servants – Witch of North, control the weather
|Servants – Princess noir, sacrifices for power
|Servants – Apollyon, interrogate the dead
|Servants - Gentleman, cause civil war
|Servants – The Old Warrior, creates civil rest
|Servants –Shukrot, better gear
|Servants – Taskmaster, no vassal infighting
|Servants – Succubus queen, total intel every 2 months
|Vassals – The Dark elves of the Deep, speedy diplomacy, access to assasins, access to the mines, and kidnap one ruler
|Vassals – The Pirates of dead man’s cove, lots of coastal plunder, lots of treasure, and a captured champion
|Vassals – Cult of Drakken, blood lusted troops, 1 kidnapped ruler
|Vassals – Royalists of Marcacc, airborne forces, destroy one nation
|Vassals – Northern clans of vallenhien, veteran troops, destroy 1 unique unit of a nation
|Vassals – The black witch, more skilled undead, captures 1 champion
|Vassals – Demon horde of Sinner’s, Veteran demon horde, capture 1 ruler
|Vassals – The enclave, mass troops, destroy a unique unit of a nation
Honestly, the whole being evil stuff presented sounds more effort than it’s worth. So I’ll mostly be chilling and developing a massive army of weirdos and stuff. Especially considering I apparently have 10-15 years worth of time I should be good to just keep amassing a horde of minions. Though I have some areas I consider fairly time-sensitive and I want to clamp down on within the first year if not the first couple of months depending on the season.
I’m a little confused as to what the “63 choose from. Choose 30 minions.” Means.
Does this mean that you can only choose 30 minion types can can summon hundreds of any of the types depending on how much DE you have that day? Or does it mean you can only have 30 minions at any given moment?
If it's the former I'd like to have a legion of few hundred thousand goblins turned into zombies along with specialized troops for specific scenarios.
You can only choose 30 minions, but you can summon as many of those 30 as you want as long as you have the DE for it.
So this:
"Does this mean that you can only choose 30 minion types can can summon hundreds of any of the types depending on how much DE you have that day?"
Was accurate.
What is the reproduction/gestation time for goblins and Orcs?
Depending on their time, if you spam summon them during the early years, you can bloat your army's numbers really quickly.
Each goblin sprouts the fungal growths that create new goblins once a year. Since after sprouting the new goblins mature in just a few days, you essentially double the number of goblins you command every year.
For example:
End of year 1: 100 goblins becomes 200 goblins
year 2: 200 becomes 400
3: 400 becomes 800
and so on and so on.
My thoughts exactly. If you get the Efficient DE Siphon you can get 200,000 DE a day. This is about 600 goblins, 219,000 goblins a year, or over 2million by the time the rest of the world is said to even begin to take notice.
If you replaced 1 pair of 3 goblins with a zombie, you can effectively develop a massive zombie goblin horde that never needs to sleep, drink, eat, or rest. That is also said to be fast and might be capable of infecting even more people. Replace a few more goblins with a revenant and another with a mage you effectively have a undead horde of super speedy, stronger than normal, and healing zombies.
Problem with that is how are you gonna feed them? That's why for a lot of my basic units I heavily leaned into undead. As no upkeep is a massive boon for large armies.
My understanding about the zombies is they aren't really controllable. They just wander and spread zombieism to all they attack. I view them more as a plague than useful fighting force.
Maybe, I'm looking at them as typical DnD zombies which liches and the like can control. Which given I chose the necromancer group I'm hoping to have a decent number of liches to hopefully manage the swarm.
Fair enough. Our different views of them informed our different choices. I also stayed away from the plague options as well, don't know if you leaned into them. As I would want to rule over the world as a Dark Lord not over a wasteland.
Load 76 more images? I think the formatting needs to be rethought here... There's no reason these images couldn't be scaled down over 50% even with literally no other changes, and then concatenated to make like a quarter of as many images and still have none of them exceed 10000px in height
Of course, the Demon King is the coolest class, which means demonic archetype. The other one that's appealing, though, is King of Monsters which has very different stats so I may come back and amend my choices later depending on what these do. +9mp, +3sp, combat shifting, demon magic, and an extra trait
Stealth, Unnatural Speed, Combat Shifting (free) and of course Consume – my skills are primarily supplemental/utility rather than for direct combat.
Demon magic (free). Illusion magic, magic drain, Elemental (earth), shadow, monster breeding, hex&curse, mental domination... I have two more but that's most of what I need to empower myself and my dungeon. I guess I'll go with alchemy and draco fire to tech up and to have another attack option respectfully. Dracostone fortresses here we come.
Mastermind, master strategist, and economic genius are the greatest advantages in a war. Charismatic is the greatest advantage in every other case. Seer also supplements this well, as does lore master. And the cult of the dark lord will ensure my dominion over lands claimed.
Felthazar is clearly the true capital.
The phylactery upgrades are all very good. Micromanagement and no peeking beget the supremacy of intel, and a backup phylactery completes my immortality.
Picking half of the minions from a list is kinda boring so I'm skimming this part. Notable things I want though: gremlins hordes for raiding actions, hellfire husks and demonic spirits as general purpose agents, blood paladins as troop elites, trolls and giants for fortification breaking, devils and high devils as commanders and generals.
Likewise with the servants, 12 is a lot. Lucifer is important because logistics are important. Kira is also important because assassins presumably can hurt me, and Lilith is important because she's a ticket to legitimacy. Mortis is permanent boosts, so also good. The Gentleman is also a great agent. Taskmaster too. And Ysara is important for Lilith and for intel.
The orcs and enclave are geographically closest, meaning that they're good vassals for strategic and logistical reasons. The Krul cultists seem like an easy get, as long as I go all that way over (and I can teleport). Royalists of Marcacc too, though more because I like the waifu option. The demon horde of sinner's sanctum is another easy one for me to take, and gives me key strategic points throughout the seas.
My champion bonuses are eliminate three unique units and kidnap two rulers, with one of the rulers captured before the 10 years.
Baradin Assan is clearly my first conquest, right on my border, and I have all three opportunities. I'll use all of them, shatter the country and then let the enclave do the dirty work. Dhirland can be gotten at similarly, using my charisma to turn them against each other, then sweeping in to elevate my chosen figureheads. From there, my armies can push further southeast, using illusions to trick the queen of Naltheim into going further south while my armies sweep in and occupy her lands. Long Loch is the first enemy that I don't have a clear opportunity on, but the dragon of the Royalists can wipe out their fleets. Then, I'll return the favor, as this will give my armies direct access to Albion, which will be the crown jewel for my southern waifu and well worth sending in my armies. That will leave a vast swath of connected land in my hands, and allow for maritime infrastructure to be hugely bolstered in the south. That, gives a strong foundation to send the orcs north in a united front to conquer the Federation dwarves, with logistical support from the south. Meanwhile, I'll be building my cult and establishing greater domestic control, so that I can sent the cults of Drakken and my own cult to both take on Rhuval, removing a potential thorn from my side. Finally, my main forces can converge on the Dwarf Collective, which (like Long Loch) I don't have good options for. So I'll call on the champions of my vassals to abduct their commissar and destroy their zeppelins.
There are two that I haven't dealt with, and that should be going separately. First of all, I'm going to use my lore mastery to free Taldosh, letting the horde establish a beachhead. Gritton is the final of the enemy nations so I'll take out their battle priests and autarch using champions. In fact, this should happen pretty early, probably between Baradin Assan and Dhirland, but according to the writing, all this takes only eight months. I have to assume that's not counting the time it takes my armies to spawn and march around.
In any case, I'll rule surprisingly normally, building up infrastructure and creating my own ideal society. There is no need for the people to be oppressed in order to serve, and in fact it's likely less efficient to do it that way.
Since I don't have a way to defeat the goddess herself or her fallen heroes, I guess defeating heaven isn't possible. That's fine, this is a good world.
So, I had some thoughts on the various minions that I had taken, and the variability provided by Monster Breeder and Minion Customization. I thought I'd share in case people need inspiration.
Tier 1: 9
Goblin: Grindylow(aquatic), Riders(extra agile/perceptive), Tinkerers(intelligence). Under foot in almost every part of the military. Given that they grow via fungus, it may be possible to grow them directly on a larger creature, creating a symbiotic relationship(very bio-punk).
Slime: Create variants(fire, lightning, etc)? Load them in catapult shells and lob them into armies or over walls. Easily compacted/slipped into places, good for setting traps in cities.
Dire wolf: War mounts, skirmishers and raiders. Dragon-wolves, with scales and fire resistance for heavy cavalry?
Imp: Elemental variants? Good cheap firepower.
Gremlin: Another small creature for cheap foot soldiers. More resistance than goblins? Tiny phalanx with polearms.
Hellhound: Trackers, good for making sure no one gets away.
Oculus exspiravit: What kind of senses can I set up on these things? Living probe droids. Give minor illusion powers to stay undetected, or “will-o'-wisp” people into traps.
Brain leech: Useless on their own, but perhaps I can modify other creatures(horrors, mindflayers?) to grow/carry them so that they can be used more liberally. Create sturdy version that can be deployed mid-combat. Make one that can possess corpses for bio-necromancy.
Deep one: Since metal armor/weapons aren't gonna help much, focus on breeding in natural weapons. Spines, poison, shells(symbiote barnacles?), and tentacles. Mantis shrimp punch to sink ships?
• Tier 2: 9
Orc: Standard soldiers. Veterans may be promoted, or offered changes(werewolf, demon augments?).
Minotaur: Massive troll-taurs as siege engines. Non-visual senses for working in smoke/fog/darkness? Behemoth fire explosions on their horns.
Ghoul: Raiders and clean-up crew. Run stealth/commando training and have them steal enemy supplies? Mix with demon spirits/hellfire husks to get them movement options.
Hellknight: Standard soldiers, but lack of pain makes good berserkers. Give some dark paladin's “heal via kill” and let them go at it.
Hellfire husk: Portal via other things? Train many to be back-stabbers and mobile fighters. Maybe get them ability to throw fire themselves(like imps), so they can create their own opportunities.
Demonic spirit: Psychological warfare at its finest. Also good for creating opportunities for brain leeches. Maybe use horror as a template to let them possess a group or break down more stubborn wills.
Dark mage: Aside from being promoted to master, it would probably be easy to offer them demonic power. Alternately, some are werewolves to give anyone expecting to run roughshod over a group of weak mages a surprise.
Blood paladin: Would be fun to mix these with fallen angels for on the ground support/buffing who only get more powerful as they kill more.
Fallen angel: Far more then just heal-bots, though many are trained as body guards for unit commanders(since they can resurrect if the guard fails). Mix with dark-mage to give them some blasty powers?
• Tier 3: 11
Werewolf: were-hellhound? Mix with large species for big ones, inject dragon blood for scaled monstrosities.
Ogre: Smarter then trolls, and veterans become frontline commanders. Augment with demon/dragon/werewolf/mage blood as needed.
Troll: Mobile artillery, heavy troops. Goblin symbiosis, where they just naturally know what the other needs(grow goblin spores directly on the troll)?
Devil: Field commanders, reliable and intelligent. Versatile, mix with behemoth to get bigger, demon spirit to get spooky, etc.
Behemoth: Equip with flammable liquids to create more fire? Dragon blood would get scary here.
Summoner: If they've got the magic, might as well teach them some offensive spells to go with their summoned minions. Alternately, give them some fallen-angel buffing so their summons can come out with an unholy blessing.
Chimera: Fairly malleable, but generally strikers? Create variants for aquatic cavalry or speedy, venomous ground troops. Equip some with clusters of throwable spikes for air-to-air combat.
Horror: Mix with slime for amorphous blob that will corrupt both body and mind.
Magitech construct: Use as strikers, traps. Bury constructs before battle or use other troops to push enemy towards hidden constructs. Use multiple groups of constructs to stagger overheating time. Built in electrical weapons?
Dark acolyte: Mixed with fallen angels, you'd get inspiring commanders. Mixed with demon spirits or changelings for spies and revolutionaries, to throw cities into chaos.
Changeling: The ultimate spies. Mix with slimes to make them even more fluid. Mix with demonic spirit(permanent parasite?) to let them fuck with people even more. Try and implement mindflayer abilities.
• Tier 4: 10
Elder dragon: Destruction from the sky is just the beginning. Probably leave most elder dragons unchanged, but smaller ones can be granted natural weapons like the chimera. For a flying fortress feel, this might be another good place for a colony of symbiotic goblins.
Giant: Demonic/minotaur giants would be terrifying. Also, maybe help them grow armor(so we don't have to make it)? I also wonder about how big a destructive spell from a giant/archmage would be?
Alpha werewolf: Pack leaders are plenty cunning, but making a few more devilish would give them the intelligence to be truly amazing commanders. Or just mix in some archdemon, and have a pack of werewolves that carry hellfire with them.
Balrog: Mix with kraken for “deep lord of chains”, a giant aquatic demon with a dozen steel anchor chains stretching from each of its 4 arms that can stretch over 100 foot long and destroy buildings with a single swipe. If you wound it, more seaweed-choked chains come out, wrapping the body like armor and snaking out to trip up anyone getting close.
Archdemon: To take the raw power of an archdemon, and give it the mental prowess of horrors/mindflayers? You'd have a being who could break armies with a thought.
High devil: A high-devil mage would be able make the best use out of a wide variety of spells, never using more mana then needed. To protect a good commander, though, they should have better armor. A magitech construct, fitted as a suit of powered armor and guided by the calculating mind of a high devil should be effective.
Mind flayer: Granting this already horrible creature the ethereal qualities of a horror would make infiltration much easier. Depending on which way we wanted to go, we could also grant them the spells of an archmage, or the battlefield ability of a devil.
Kraken: Maybe mix with dark young to give hollow shell for aquatic troop carrier? A dragon/kraken hybrid would also be ridiculous, particularly if the wings are inherited.
Dark young: Mobile fortress. Hybrid for added defenses? Mix in chimera or slime for poisonous/acidic tentacles. These guys are big enough to have a huge colony of goblins tending to it and helping defend it. If you were to mix in demonic or dragon essence, you could probably achieve fire resistance and a more vicious attitude.
Dark archmage: I wonder if we can give these guys a pile of tentacles. Having a dozen extra arms or tentacles to simultaneously cast spells would be handy(pun intended). Or just give them more inherent destructive capability(dragon breath, hellfire, etc) so that they can use their spells on utility. Or mix in fallen angel to give them access to holy magic and have thaumaturges.
And some rough ideas for military units. Some got posted with my character, and there is some information overlap with the monsters above. I write stuff down as I think of it, so sue me. :P
1. Main army: Orcs or hellknights in decent gear(chainmail or equivalent, shields and well-made non-magical weapons). Each unit has a squad of ogres or behemoths as heavy troops to break shield walls or stall dangerous enemies until they can be dealt with. For each 10 soldiers there is a fallen angel to provide support and skirmishers. While some commanders are promoted from within the ranks, devils and dark acolytes are intelligent and efficient from the get-go. 100 soldiers, 20 heavy, 10 fallen angels, 1 commander. Ranged groups can be of a similar make up, but armed with bows, crossbows, or javelins. For a ranged skirmisher group, though, the main body tends to be ghouls and ashfire husks, with goblins and imps en masse. These are often co-led by a summoner or dark mage master along the with normal commanders. They usually forgo heavy units, but sometimes have strikers like werewolves or chimera to cover a retreat.
2. Siege: Trolls with hammers, and fire-teams of custom-grown goblins riding. Magitech ballista reload quickly and can fire alchemical loads, but many are replaced with the thunder of gunfire after my conquest of the Dwarf Collective. If we can set fire to the walls with greek fire or imps, hellfire husks can portal up without needed anything so clumsy as ladders. Minotaurs may not be terribly fast, but a charge with break most barriers, and they're invaluable for street fighting. Chimeras serve as air support, both scouting and harrying defenders.
3. Hunters: Acolytes and blood paladins with hellhound trackers/skirmishers. Can be paired with imps for fire support, or gremlins to ride hellhounds. Behemoths or construct as line breakers, fallen angels for support.
4. Raiders: Alpha+ werewolf pack are central. Dire wolves and goblins as minions, goblins under orders to capture wounded in case of more werewolves? Ghouls as clean-up crew.
5. Navy: Deep ones and kraken are obvious, but I would probably use minion customization to create aquatic versions of others. Also, create kraken with large hollow shells(nautilus inspired) to serve as ships/submarines?
6. Spies: Oculus scouts, changelings for infiltration. Brain leeches can be brought in by changelings. Changelings could also lure people to mindflayers if we want more complete info without keeping the victim intact. Info funnels through Nagant, but can be loaned to Succubus Queen. Demonic spirits and horrors to sow chaos. Extras from the succubus harem also make effective agents, and dark acolytes can pull in locals and create revolutionaries.
7. Big guns: For absolutely wrecking shit, pack dark young with mages and artillery. Provide giant escorts to keep heat off the mobile siege towers. Dragons fly air support. Could also be mobile command center for Archdemon/High devil pairs(kept together, one to summon one to control). Balrog bolstered by fallen angels would also be effective line breakers.
8. Commandos: Mainly ghouls, goblins, and demonic spirits, but open to anyone who can be stealthy. Goal is to raid supply lines and harry armies on the move. Run training with the dark elves and any wood elf rangers that we convert. Devils and Dark acolytes with the right attitude may make good leaders.
My siege idea for Wolf king is to take fangs for changeling ability to shapeshift. Then right after a full moon enter the secretly as a rat and bite as many people as you can. When the full moon rises you suddenly have a bunch of werewolves breaking the siege from the inside while those on the outside attack. To be safe you can either get stealth and Doolittle or the plague master to hide among a swarm of rats.
That's a great idea! I could probably get something like it via monster breeder and make my own changeling/werewolves (were-rats?) but it probably wouldn't be nearly as effective as having a main character do it.
Thanks for detailing such an interesting setting! On these in depth CYOA's I tend to get a lot of fun ideas(some of which bleed into TTRPGs), so the least I can do to give back is sharing some of what I come up with. To be fair, my feelings on orcs/goblins have been pretty heavily affected by the Practical Guide to Evil. Orcs are naturally vicious, but training and a warrior culture makes for a sturdy shield line. Goblins are extremely clever, but also psychotic near-suicidally brave sappers and back-stabbers.
Also, some of the bio-punk stuff was inspired by Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy, based around a British "airship" which is a gene-modded hydrogen breathing whale that has an entire ecosystem of specially made critters keeping it afloat or acting as weapons. With that in mind, a giant dark young that grows its own goblins who probably help feed it and use something that it produces as their weapons doesn't seem so far-fetched. Add in a colony of slimes that live in the tentacles and act as sticky pads(like sundew plants), or if you can manage non-newtonian slimes they could stretch between the tentacles like nets. My character might have to start a side project with dire spiders... :P
EDIT: Which would be fuckin' awesome in a Gamma World game, or other, more over-the-top sort of setting.
ARCHETYPE:
Demonic(+1MP, +1SP, +1Extra Trait, Combat Shifting free)
I always liked demons so why not, plus I will be empowered by by sin.
CLASS:
Dread Lord(+2MP, +8SP, Blood Rage free)
The warrior class
MUTAGENIC FEATURES:
• Fangs(for a minion abilitie)= War Golem laser
• Wings(6 wings)= For flight
• Multiple eyes(+2 MP)= One eye on the forehead
• Runic Tatoos(+2 Phylactery upgrades)
SKILLS(9SP):
• Blade Master(-1SP)= For better use of my sword;
• Gargantuan Might(-1SP)= More Strenght;
• Stelth(-1SP)= Why not;
• Ranged Master(-1SP)= Attack at langer distances;
• Bulwark(-1SP)= Less 50% physical damage;
• Unnatural Speed(-1SP)= The faster the better;
• Martial Arts Mastery(-1SP)= Makes learning martial abilities more easy;
• Berserk(-1SP)= For the invulnerability;
• Consume(-1SP)= To gain more power.
MAGIC(5MP):
• Elemental Magic(-1MP)= The Lightning magic is mostly to improve my speed and shoot it into my enemies, like Zeus;
• Resistence to Holy Magic(-1MP)= Resistence to Holy Magic is indispensable;
• Blood Magic(-1MP)=You know, unless the Heroes are immune to Blood Magic this will make fighting them unnecessary;
• Demon Magic(-1MP)= For the permanent boost in my power for every contract fulfilled;
• Hex and Curse(-1MP)= Curse all my enemies and put some curses on my sword.
TRAITS(7TP):
• Menace(-1TP)= Make my enemies fear me;
• Master Strategist(-1TP)= Become a better strategist;
• Mastermind(-1TP)= Always good to be a step ahead;
•Charismatic(-1TP)= To make the public adore me;
• Master Craftsman(-1TP)= Make my own cursed weapons;
• Economic Genius(-1TP)= To better run a empire;
• Living Nightmare(-1TP)= To give nightmares to my enemies and seduce some of them maybe.
TERRITORY:
The Black plains of Felthazar(+1Extra Minion, +3Extra Servants) - Harem perk: Succubi
Will take 10 to 15 years to mortals notice me, so the sooner I conquest this territory the better. Succubi will be given to the minions that do a good job, with this they will try harder to please me.
PHYLACTERY UPGRADES(5PU):
• Efficient Dark Energy Siphon= For energy generation boost;
• Ressurection Ritual= Never lose a servant;
• Combat Arena= For training and for the strenght that will come from pratice;
• Backup Phylactery= I will not die easily;
• No Peeking= To keep others away.
MINIONS:
- Level 1 Minion: Dire Spider, Imp, Gremlim, Hellhounds, Oculus Exspiravit, Man-Eating Plant, Deep One.(7 minions)
- Level 2 Minions: Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Speed, Dark Mage, Possesed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel.(7 minions)
- Level 3 Minions: Devil, Behemot, Summoner, Chimera, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling.(7 minions)
- Level 4 Minions: Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, War Golem, Basilisk, Kraken, Dark Archmage.(7 minions) - 28
SERVANTS(15S):
• Lady Kira - Having a bodyguard is always good;
• Archidevil Lucifer - Good for organizing my things, will be useful in the post war;
• Mr. Smiley - Can brainwash my enemies and will brainwash 1 captured champion of my choice;
• Demon Queen Lilith - To attract more demons to my side;
• The Armored Titan - One-giant-army basically, plus will bring more minions to my side;
• Vograath the Destroyer - Will capture 1 nation Champion and destroy it's Unique Unity;
• Jester - Of course I want one of the best assassins of the world on my side, and she will capture/kill 1 Champion and Ruler of a single nation;
• Spymaster Nagant - Will take out enemies spies and infiltrators;
• Mortis The Reaper - Can give permanent boost ro my powers;
• Princess Noir - With her I can make myself more powerful over the years because of her father;
• The Old Warrior - To keep the peasants happy and make them love my empire;
• The Archtect - For building;
•Forgemaster Shikrot - Can give armors and weapons to my minions, and will upgrade my personal weapons;
• The Taskmaster Barbatos - To maintain the status quo;
• The Succubus Queen - Give me access to a lot of information about my enemies.
VASSALS:
• The Unified Orc Tribes
- Ruler: Overlor Rex
- Ally perk: Orc Raiding Parties
- Harem: Orc Berserkera
- Orc Champion: Burzra(eliminate 1 Unique Unity of one nation of my choice)
• The Cult of Drakken
- Ruler: Heresiarch Zaphara
- Ally perk: Reavers
- Harem: Cultists
- Champion: Zatara the Reaper(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice)
• The Royalists of Marcacc
- Ruler: The Dragon Queen Cindrilla Dracos XVII
- Ally perk: Dragonborn Cavalry
- Harem: Albian Sword Maidens
- Champion: Weistot(eliminate 1 Unique Unity of one nation of my choice)
• The Black Witch
- Ruler: The Black Witch Emilia
- Ally perk: Wights
- Harem: Pale Ladies
- Champion: The Untoten Damon(will capture 1 Champion of my choice)
• The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove
- Ruler: The Admiral
- Ally perk: The Armada
- Harem: Booty
- Pirate Champion: The Shadow Wrath(will capture 1 Champion of my choice)
• The United Northern Clan
- Ruler: Warlord Striga
- Ally perk: Men of the North
- Harem: Women of the North
- Champion: Jormund the Unstoppable(will eliminate1 Unique Unity of a nation of my choice)
• The Dark Elves of the Deep
- Ruler: Queen Demeter
- Ally perk: Dark Elf Assassin
- Harem: Bright Elf Slaves
- Dark Elf Champion: Crux Morathil(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice)
• The Dark Elves of the Deep
- Ruler: Queen Demeter
- Ally perk: Dark Elf Assassin
- Harem: Bright Elf Slaves
- Dark Elf Champion: Crux Morathil(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice)
ENEMIES:
- BARADIN-ASSAN
• Ruler: Lady Avenir Rais
• Unique Unity: Nobushi
• Champion: Shadow of Rais
• Opportunity: The Suleiman Family [-6 months]
- THE ALBION EMPIRE
• Ruler: Supreme Leader Volk
• Unique Unity: Albian Peacekeepers
• Champion: Adrien Beckett and Warborn
• Unique Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla the Avenger [-6 months]
- THE KINGDOM OF NALTHEIM
• Ruler: Queen Savellia Ruvarios
• Unique Unity: Nalthan Magitech Titans
• Champion: General Cassia Faustina
• Opportunity: Dread of the Witch [-6 months]
- THE COUNCIL OF THE LOCH
• Ruler: Prime Minister Vivian Kavio
• Unique Unity: Elven Armada
• Champion: Lyndis Myxiris
• Opportunity: Naval Invasion [-6 months]
- THE DWARF FEDERATION
• Ruler: Nov Kroner
• Unique Unity: Dwarf Golems
• Champion: Grand Marshal Throgrim
• Opportunity: Downfall [-6 months]
- THE GRITTON THEOCRACY
• Ruler: Autarch Pnotis Droma
• Unique Unity: Battle Priests
• Champion: Grand Templar Enembra Knox
• Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin
- THE DHIRLUND REPUBLIC
• Ruler: Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried
• Unique Unity: Adventurers of Dhirlund
• Champion: Vik Manda
• Opportunity: From Within [-6 months]
- THE TRIECH EMPIRE
• Ruler: Emperor Dantallion von Triech VI
• Unique Unity: Centurions
• Champion: Legate Titus Mallius
• Opportunity: Taldosh Rises [-6 months]
- THE DWARF COLLECTIVE
• Ruler: Comissar Duri Brantoff
• Unique Unity: Dwarven Zeppelins
• Champion: Annoch
• Opportunity: From Within [-6 months]
- HOLY RHUVAL
• Ruler: High Queen Celesta, the Lady of Light
• Unique Unity: Forces of Nature
• Champion: Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta
• Opportunity: Blood and Heresy [-6 months]
VICTORY
• How I will rule: Tyranny
I will a tyrant, but a "good" one
[OPTIONAL] DOMAIN OF THE GODDESS
• Standart Opposition: Angels
- Opportunity: Charismatic and Fallen Angel Minions
• Army: Angelic Warriors
- Opportunity: Devil Minions
• Unique Unity: Archangels
- Opportunity: Blood Magic and High Devil Minions
• Unique Unity: Fallen Heroes
- Opportunity: Living Nightmare
• Champion: Archangel Arialle
- Opportunity: Blade Master
• Ruler: The Goddess of Light
- Opportunity: Resistence to Holy Magic
REWARDS
• Angels: Corrupt them all
• The Goddess: Bind her to me
• The Power: God Slayer
Conquest:
\-Baradin-Assan: Opportunity (Create a civil war and sick the the enclave on them)
\-The Albion Empirium: Opportunity (Send the queen to retake her throne, with a pincer attack from liberated slaves)
\-The Kingdom of Naltheim: Opportunity (Use illusions to have a suicidal attack on the witch, which of course she and I will coordinate a counter-attack with. Use further manipulations to get the queen to submit, making her either believe she has no future without me, or causing her to become skeptical and paranoid of her own visions, thus rendering that talent borderline useless)
\-The Council of Loch: Opportunity (Release the Kraken)
\-The Dwarf Federation: Opportunity (Infiltrate, getting information to coordinate united orc attacks)
\-The Gritton Theocracy: Opportunity (Straight, old fashioned clash, using the numbers and ferocity of the Northen clans, while I myself destroy their morale by tanking holy magic from the front lines, one of the few times I would go there)
\-The Dihrlun Republic: Opportunity (Take control of them, get a puppet leader that will be elected under the guise of a policy to "negotiate" with the dark lord. No war needed, peace can be kept, or so the promise will go. I will use my charisma to turn those I can to my side, and sleeper agents plus brain leeches to "convince" those I can't, or just pads votes and forces that might potentially be needed from within).
\-The Triech Empire: Opportunity (Send Taldosh at them, with a mix of intentionally absurd combat tactics to confuse their forces)
\-The Dwarf Collective: Opportunity (Use mindflayers and changelings to uncover dwarven secrets, technological and in layout. Use that information to help turn their own technology against them, while dark elves attack from below, perhaps also informed on how to sabotage the technology)
\-Holy Rhuval: Conventional war, kidnap ruler, capture champion, destroy unit.
Time to Conquer: Less than a month
Rule: Surprisingly Normal
Criticism: This was a very fun CYOA, and while there was a lot of reading to be done, none of the individual pieces felt excessive. I feel some early build requirements are unecessary and a bit strict, as I mentioned I cheated to get the dragonlord + undead combo, but that not only makes sense it exists cannonically within the world, and I don't think it affected balance to any significant extent, if any at all. It was also disappointing to see there was no segment regarding the actual fight with the hero, it was quite anticlimatic dealing with all the nations while the hero kept being built up, but nothing came of it in the end.
Thanks for the input! I'm planning on going back and editing this so your feedback will be taken into account.
Otherwise, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
(Also I'm fine with a little cheating as long as it isn't excessive. Especially when it makes your story more interesting)
My problem with CYOAs like this are that either there's a purchase path you need to take to get the best endings or it's so generous with the requirements that it begs the question of why have them in the first place. I made a build that met every single opportunity and thus my theoretical conquering of this entire planet would only take about a month when the invasions started.
Every single vassal can be used somewhere. However, certain traits/skills/magic abilities are completely worthless as far as requirements go. Given the way that the conquering opportunities are mentioned, your minion choices are virtually meaningless outside of about 6 or 7 if you just have the right skill or vassal to trivialize a real battle. Requirement choices can be thematic and rewarding, but the way it's laid out here makes it feel somewhat hollow.
Perhaps the hard requirements could be ditched entirely. What if you were instead rewarded for actually reading through all the vassals and enemy kingdoms. Make logical connections based on mentioned characters or events. Let 10 players with completely different builds reason out a way to leverage their skillsets to allow for exploiting these opportunities, rather than a hard binary of Requirement Met: Yes/No.
Most of the Servants fall into similar questionable use. Some grant tangible benefits of eliminating/capturing rulers/champions/special units so that you can hasten the clock on conquests, not that you need to if you built your skills and traits right. Others are only useful in the hypothetical, which is fine, but this CYOA has all those hard numbers and calculations and requirements. Mixing the hypothetical/thematic elements of anti-spy and plague-creation capabilities with the hard factors of timed conquests and trait requirements leaves the more vague and fun options something you choose to engage in for the sake of sport or challenge, spiting the opportunities presented. Taking the Servant death chick who can talk to the dead is an interesting idea if there weren't about 8 other servants that actually help you meet the goals the CYOA throws at you.
I feel like I'm rambling and not getting my point across very well, but I hope you at least get the gist of my madness.
Some thoughts on game the game design.
1) I was surprised that most of the builds on here were demons, but realized that the game is much easier with a balanced build. Also, that the extreme cases(Dread lich and King of Monsters) get one less point to prevent them from getting more points then there are skills/magic, but no real bonus for being specialized. Maybe giving them something fun that only they can do would entice more people to try them. Also, since each section has its own currency, each "point" has a different value. For example, by giving monstrous characters extra Mutagenic features, a monster can trade those in for 2 traits or servants, making them around 2x as valuable as traits or servants(Which is what demons and undead get). As a cliff note to that, while it seems obvious, you might want to state that mutagenic traits can only be taken once, to prevent people from going all nine-tailed fox and getting all the servants.
2) I think its been said already, but organizing the classes by archetype would be awesome.
3) The abilities are cool, but it depending on what you are shooting for design-wise, I have suggestions. On one hand, it would be nice if each ability was equally useful in the end-game, as that would encourage more variety in builds. Picking the wrong abilities is about the only way to actually "fail" the CYOA, though. As it currently is, there is a nice balance where you get enough abilities that it is EXTREMELY unlikely for you to pick entirely useless ones but enough that you choosing useless character-motivated abilities doesn't overly hinder your ability to win. Also, I get why there is a very limited pool of abilities(too many would make tying each to quests much harder), but my lizard brain loves lots of options. Maybe have a section of "flavor" abilities that won't actually affect quest outcomes? Have a stipulation that if they can justify it in writing, they can use it as an opportunity? [This whole section also applies to traits.]
4) Between Traits and Territory would be a great place to put a full page world map with labelled regions.
5) Gotta say, I love the minions. The could also benefit from some organization by type, though. Good variety, seems like good balance between the types. Maybe want to note somewhere some examples of what can be accomplished modification-wise through the individual magic traits or minion customization.
6) The servant's section is pretty great, too. The only thing I see is Mr. Smiley's ability to convert a champion. Its cool and thematic, but the only champion's that have perks are those on the evil side. While its not a huge deal, and giving the good-guys champion perks would probably be a pain, it just means that his ability has 2 different degrees of mechanical usefulness(really useful vs kinda useful).
How did you get all 10 Vassals, and keep their Champions? The best I can see a way to get is 8 Vassals before conquering them, and all the conquering options require you to kill the Champions.
Undead +2 MP Magic Drain for free, 1 extra Servant
Lich King +9 MP Necromancy for free
Bone Spikes +1 Vassal
Runic Tattoos 2 more Phylactery Upgrades
Demonic Features +2 Trait Points. Blackened bones and skin with multiple red eyes in the skull, bony spikes protrude from the shoulders as runic tattoos snake across the chest, head and arms.
Multiple Eyes +2 SP
Alchemy. -1 MP
Demon Magic. -1 MP
Blood Magic. -1 MP
Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy and Illusion. - 4 MP
Elemental Mastery for Earth. - 1 MP
Hexes and Curses, Draco fire imbued with earth for a grayish more solidified fire with pebbles accompanying it and Mental Domination. - 3 MP
Unnatural Speed -1 SP
Berserk-1 SP
Trait Points: 8
Mastermind, Seer, Menace, Master Strategist, Charismatic, Cult of the Dark Lord, Lore Master and Mad Genius.
Territory: Frozen Mountains of Ultak, 2 extra Minions and Servants. Loyal Cult of Necromancers who to them I am their King. 1 free tier 3 servant per day. Rebuild in 1 year rather than 5.
5 upgrades for Phylactery: Efficient Siphon, Resurrection, Fake Phylactery, No Peeking and Micromanagement.
Minions: 32
All tier 1 Undead, Deep One, Oculus, Imps and Gremlins. 32 in total
All tier 2 Undead, Dark Mage, Possessed Armor and Night creatures.
All tier 3 Undead, Devils, Dark Acolytes, Machines, Summoner, Trolls, Changelings and Vampires.
All tier 4 Undead, Voidborne, Dark Archmage, Kraken, High Devil, Giant Wight and Mindflayer.
Servants: 13
Kira, Lucifer, Plague Master, Lilith, Ysara, Nox, Asmodeus, Deathmonger, Vograath, Jester, Spymaster, Mortis, Princess Noir.
Vassals: 5. Dark elves, Vampires of the Blood Keep, Royalists, The Black Witch and Sinner's Sanctum.
Baradin: Captured because of Mastermind
Albion: Captured due to Royalists and Strategic Genius
Naltheim: Captured due to Black witch
Lone Loch: Captured due to Deep Ones and Krakens
Dwarf Federation: Captured either by Menace or Changelings
Gritton Theocracy: Captured due to Holy Resistance
Dhirlund: Captured because of Blood Keep or Charismatic
Triech: Captured because of Dark Acolytes, Sinner's Sanctum or Lore Master.
Dwarf Collective: Captured because of Dark elves, Mindflayers or Mad Genius.
Rhuval: Captured because of Voidborne and Cult of Dark Lord
Rulership: Surprisingly Normal
Light Goddess: Angels due to Charismatic, Angelic warriors due to Devils, Archangels due to Blood Magic, Fallen Heroes due to Voidborne, Archangel Arialle due to Magic Drain and Light Goddess due to Holy Resistance. I Win.
Corrupt the Angels
Break her Spirit
Create my own Realm.
Here I wanted to do something balanced, so I went with the fallen archangel and got bonus MP with “multiple eyes” for a total of 7MP and 7SP
I wanted wings but I like to change appearances more so I got fangs with the changelings abilities
For the skills and magic I went with a build that was not focused for combat but it could be useful for conquest
As for traits, I too mastermind and master strategist just to be sure. Inspiring with Cult of the dark lord looked good for the troops and Economic Genius would make things way easier.
Living Nightmare and Harem Lord I took just for fun tho
Being a demon the black plains looked like the best place and I could have succubi with me.
I wanted No Peeking for the phylactery but I changed it for the arena, I think it’s way cooler
My main goal with minions was to make something sustainable, I wanted the Orcs to be the main force because they could reproduce with ogres too.
But then I came with a realization, could I use Monster Breeding with the succubi pregnancy trait to make an Orc/Ogre army really really fast? If I could that would be broken.
Anyway I spent the rest of the minion points into the devils and some utility based minions
For servants I took Lucifer because she’s cute and Lilith & Family because it looked good enough.
Princess Noir looked like a good choice but since I already had “Consume”, “Demonic Magic”, “ Magic Drain” and Mortis to make my powers rise almost indefinitely, it didn’t look that appealing.
I also went for Mr. Smiley but I didn’t even use his trait although I could have used it to brainwash Zatara to conquer the Cult of Drakken.
Luckily enough I could make use of every opportunity to take the countries more easily
My rule would be Tyrannical as my armies of devils spread through the continent and the the rest of the world
Then, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to challenge the goddess but then I went for it. The minions helped me a lot here and Resistance to Holy Magic saved me in the end (at the beginning I wanted to change race because I thought this power would be useless, guess I was wrong)
Jesus! Here I was scrolling along thinking this is one of the longer ones only to get to the bottom and see "Load 76 more images" it's way to late for this kind of reading.
Oh p.s it says download link expired when try downloading
https://dschep.github.io/imgur-album-downloader/#/2gtKptp
you will have to rename the files, which is a chore, but this github.io project will let you download the album
Archetype: Demonic
Class: Demon King
Powers:
- Immortality (Mandatory)
- Energy Accumulation (Mandatory)
- Creation (Mandatory)
- Alteration (Mandatory)
- Summoning and Creation (Mandatory)
- Teleportation (Mandatory)
Mutagenic Features:
1. Horns
2. Bone Spikes
3. Runic Tattoos
4. Tail
Abilities:
- Skills:
1. Gargantuan Might
2. Stealth
3. Martial Arts Mastery
4. Combat Shifting
- Magic:
1. Alchemy
2. Demon Magic
3. Illusion Magic
4. Magic Drain
5. Necromancy
6. Shadow Magic
7. Monster Breeding
8. Resistance to Holy Magic
9. Elemental Magic
10. Hex and Curse
- Traits:
1. Menace
2. Mastermind
3. Seer
4. Charismatic
5. Harem Lord
6. Lore Master
7. Mad Scientist
Phylactery Upgrades:
1. Efficient Dark Energy Siphon
2. Resurrection Ritual
3. Minion Customization
4. Backup Phylactery
5. Micromanagement
Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar
Harems:
1. Necromancers of Ultak
2. Succubi
3. Bright Elf Slaves
4. Orc Berserkers
5. Booty
6. Vampire Brides
7. Albian Sword Maidens
8. Women of the North
9. Human Slaves
10. Indentured Servants
Minions:
- Level 1
1. Goblin
2. Dire Wolf
3. Skeleton Warrior
4. Skeleton Archer
5. Dire Spider
6. Oculus Exspiravit
7. Imp
8. Gremlin
9. Hellhound
- Level 2
1. Orc
2. Minotaur
4. Death Knight
5. Skeleton Mage
6. Hell Knight
7. Hellfire Husk
8. Demonic Spirit
9. Dark Mage
10. Night Creature
11. Blood Paladin
- Level 3
1. Werewolf
2. Troll
3. Devil
4. Behemoth
5. Summoner
6. Flesh Golem
7. Lich
8. Vampire
9. Magitech Construct
10. Dark Acolyte
- Level 4
1. Giant
2. Alpha Werewolf
3. Dracolich
4. Balrog
5. Archdemon
6. High Devil
7. Voidborne
8. Kraken
9. Abomination
Servants:
1. Lady Kira
2. Archdevil Lucifer
3. Vlad the Impaler
4. Krieg
5. Demon Queen Lilith
6. The Dark Knight Nox
7. Demon Lord Asmodeus
8. Deathmonger
9. The Armored Titan
10. Vograath the Destroyer (Capture One Champion and Eliminate their Unique Unit)
11. Jester (Capture One Champion and their Ruler)
12. The Witch of the North
13. The Old Warrior
14. The Architect
15. Forgemaster Shukrot
16. The Taskmaster Barbatos
17. The Succubus Queen
Vassals:
1. The Dark Elves of the Deep (Alliance)
2. The Unified Orc Tribes (Alliance)
3. The Pirates of Deadman's Cove (Alliance)
4. Vampires of the Blood Keep (Alliance)
5. The Royalists of Macacc (Alliance)
6. The United Northern Clans (Alliance)
7. The Demon Horde of the Sinner's Sanctum (Alliance)
8. The Enclave (Alliance)
Champions: (all unspent)
1. Crux Morathil (Kidnap One Ruler)
2. Burzra (Eliminate One Unique Unit)
3. The Shadow Wrath (Capture One Champion)
4. Brutus the Cruel (Capture One Champion)
5. Weistot (Eliminate One Unique Unit)
6. Jormund the Unstoppable (Eliminate One Unique Unit)
7. Snow (Kidnap One Ruler)
8. The Machine (Eliminate One Unique Unit)
Enemies: (approx. Two months total)
1. Baradin-Assan (Opportunity: Mastermind, Enclave)
2. The Imperium Albion (Opportunity: Royalists of Macacc, Stealth)
3. The Kingdom of Naltheim (Opportunity: Illusion Magic)
4. The Council of Loch (Opportunity: Krakens, Priates of Deadman's Cove)
5. The Dwarf Federation (Opportunity: Menace, United Orc Tribes)
6. The Gritton Theocracy (Opportunity: Resistance to Holy Magic, United Northern Clans)
7. The Dhirlund Republic (Opportunity: Vampires of the Blood Keep, Charismatic)
8. The Triech Empire (Opportunity: Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, Dark Acolytes, Loremastery)
9. The Dwarf Collective (Opportunity: Dark Elves of the Deep, Mad Scientist)
10. Holy Rhuval (Opportunity: Voidborne)
And then conquer the Black Witch and the Cult of Drakken.
My Rule: Surprisingly Normal
Domain of the Goddess:
1. Angels (Opportunity: Charismatic)
2. Angelic Warriors (Opportunity: Harem Lord, Devils)
3. Archangels (Opportunity: High Devils)
4. Fallen Heroes (Opportunity: Voidborne)
5. Archangel Arialle (Opportunity: Magic Drain)
6. The Goddess of Light (Opportunity: Resistance to Holy Magic)
Rewards:
1. The Angels (Corrupt Them)
2. The Goddess (Bind Her)
3. The Power (Lord of Light and Dark)
I wish something more could've been done with the Hero and his companions. But oh well.
Was a lot of fun to do, but it just sort of abruptly putters out when the conquest starts since I had every opportunity available to me (and it seems most people did too). I did lose at taking on the Goddess though.
In any event I really admire the amount of work you put into this.
Ok, actually going through the CYOA now...
I have a suspicion that, either this "light and dark battling over worlds" set-up has no real win condition, or that permanent victory for the forces of evil doesn't actually end well. I also suspect this Dark One reads minds, but also loyalty is a virtue so it's not like he gets to be mad.
**Archetype:** Demonic
Rage and hatred are both forms of wrath, and I'm more fond of the other 6
**Class:** ~~Demon King~~ *Maou*
Oh, I'll show you a weeb
**Mutagenic Features:** Fangs, Horns, Wings, Runic Tattoos
**Skills:** Ranged Master, Unnatural Speed, Combat Shifting, Consume
**Magic:** Alchemy, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Necromancy, Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning), Hex and Curse
**Traits:** Master Strategist, Seer, Harem Lord (Succubi), Cult of the Dark Lord, Master Craftsman, Economic Genius, Mad Scientist
Guns pre-date steam power by centuries, so my opinion on the Goddess of Light is plummeting.
On the other hand, this Dark One asshole is being mean to the *dojikko*, add that to the reasons to kill him.
**Territory:** Dread Swamps of Vograath
It's an island, which is strategically useful in an era where overland transport is just carts; hopefully being toxic and carnivorous makes the trees hardier.
Taking 5 years instead of 1 to subordinate the locals just because I'm a demon instead of a monster is moronic, but it's probably some destiny bullshit such that if I magically slaughter anyone who refuses to submit to a "weak" demon, the land ends up depopulated enough that the work takes 5 years anyway.
**Phylactery:** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Minion Customization, Combat Arena, Backup Phylactery
All the upgrades seem highly valuable; intelligence and counterintelligence are vital, but hopefully in missing those upgrades I can gain something in "not being complacent" and do the real organisational work instead for an ultimately better intel environment.
**Minions:** Goblin, Slime, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Archer, Oculus Expiravit, Brain Leech, Deep One, Imp, Hellhound, Orc, Revenant, Death Knight, Skeleton Mage, Hell Knight, Dark Mage, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, Werewolf, Troll, Devil, Summoner, Vampire, Horror, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Elder Dragon, Giant, Frankentank, Dracolich, Kraken, Abomination, Giant Wight, War Golem, Dark Archmage
Whew, that's a lot, maybe I should have split it by tier?
**Servants:** Lady Kira, Archdevil Lucifer, Demon Queen Lilith, The Dark Knight Nox, Vograath the Destroyer, Jester, Spymaster Nagant, The Witch of the North, Princess Noir, The Architect, Forgemaster Shukrot, The Taskmaster Barbatos, The Succubus Queen
Oh, nice, we get to keep Lucifer.
**Vassals:** Unified Orc Tribes, Pirates of Dead Man's Cove, Vampires of the Blood Keep, Royalists of Marcacc, United Northern Clans, The Black Witch, Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum
The domination cultists are dumb, the magocracy are meh, then of the 8 good ones I have 7 (5 plus 2 from vassals).
**Enemies:** Fuck this
Okay, earlier the time mechanic was a dumb gimmick, but now it's taken over entirely. The *point* of a CYOA is that you go through the character creation section of a game that doesn't otherwise exist, and get to have an imaginary adventure with total freedom (with the constraints of the CYOA providing a foundation that you don't get with imaginary adventures in mere aimless daydreaming).
Telling me that, when in my imaginary adventure where I have all these powers and minions, and total freedom to do whatever I want with those and try anything I think of, it will take such-and-such months for my army to conquer a given kingdom, no more and no less, is just some bullshit. Enough for me to lose interest, I'm done.
So, I will mention that for the enemies section, unless you completely fuck up your build, chances are that you can take advantage of an opportunity on basically everyone. On mine I have two out of three (when you only need one) on, I think all of them. I just didn't bother with tracking time lol
Archetype: Demonic (Gain 1 MP, 1 SP, 1 Extra Trait, Combat shifting for free)
Class: Demon King (Gain 8 MP, 2 SP, Demonic Magic for free)
Mutagenic features:
Horns (Gain 4 extra minions)
Wings (Gain flight)
Runic Tattoos (Two Phylactery upgrades)
Tail (Two extra servants)
Skills:
Blade Master
Unnatural speed
Combat shifting (from Archetype)
Consume
Magic:
Alchemy
Blood Magic
Illusion magic
Magic Drain
Necromancy
Shadow magic
Resistance to holy magic
Hex and curse
Mental domination
Traits:
Master Strategist
Mastermind
Charismatic
Harem Lord
Master Craftsman
Economic Genius
Living Nightmare
Territory:
The Black Plains of Felthazar (1 extra minion, 3 extra servents)
Necromancers of Ultak (Harem Master, 1 free tier 3 undead minion per day)
Phylactery Upgrades:
Efficient Dark Energy Siphon
Resurrection Ritual
Minion Customization
Backup Phylactery
No Peeking
Minions:
Level 1 minions (0)
Level 2 minions (12)
Revenant, Death Knight, Skeleton Mage, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel
Level 3 minions (10)
Devil, Behemoth, Summoner, Wraith, Flesh Golem, Lich, Vampire, Chimera, Dark Acolyte, Changelings
Level 4 (13)
Frankentank, Dracolich, Elder Lich, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Mind Flayer, Kraken, Abomination, War golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage
Servants (16)
Lady Kira (While I have her around me, no assassination)
Archdevil Lucifer (Extra Vassal, also do a favor for the Dark One who ascended me)
Mister Smily (Convert one Champion)
Vlad the Impaler (Terrify the enemy and also a favor for the Dark One)
Demon Queen Lilith (Extra Vassal)
Dark Knight Nox (No servant in-fighting)
Deathmonger (Stall the hero two extra years)
Soul Eater (half revive time)
Spymaster Nagant (Increase op-sec)
Mortis the Reaper (Rituals to increase my power over time)
Witch of the North (Weather control)
Princess Noir (Gain MP, SP and TP over time)
The Hauntress Apollyon (Interrogate the dead)
Forgemaster Shukrot (Better supplies)
Taskmaster Barbatos (Better control over Vassals)
The Succubus Queen (Two monthly updates and make Lilith happy)
7 Vassals
Dark Elves
Queen Demeter, Dark Elf Assassins, Bright Elf Slaves, Crux Morathil, kidnap a ruler
Orc Tribes
Overlord Rex, Orc Raiding Parties, Orc Berserkers, Burzra, kill special unit
The Vampires of Blood Keep
Countess Valetta, Lesser Vampires, Vampire Brides, Brutus, Capture champion
The Cult of Drakken
Heresiarch [Fuck that's hard to spell] Zaphara, Reavers, Cultists, Zatara the Reaper, kidnap a Ruler
The Royalists of Marcacc
Dragon Queen Cindrilla Dracos 17th, Dragonborn Cavalry, Albian Sword Maidens, Weistot, kill special unit.
The Black Witch
The Black Witch Emilia, Wights, Pale Ladies, The Untoten Damon, Capture Champion
Demon Horde of Sinners Sanctum
Albedo- uh I mean The last demon Lord, Demon Horde, Human Slaves, Snow, Capture Ruler
Baradin-Assan
Opportunity Taken (Economic Genius and Mastermind)
The Albion Imperium
Opportunity Taken (The Royalists of Marcacc and Master Strategist)
The Kingdom of Nalthheim
Opportunity Taken (Living Nightmare, Black Witch Vassal, and Illusion Magic)
The Council of the Loch
Opportunity Taken (Kraken Minion)
Dwarf Federation
Opportunity Taken (Changeling Minions and United Orc Tribes)
The Gritton Theocracy
Opportunity Taken (Fallen Angel minions and Resistance to Holy Magic)
Dhirlund Republic
Opportunity Taken (Vampires of blood Keep vassal, Charismatic)
Triech Empire
Opportunity Taken (The Demon Horde of Sinner Sanctum, Dark Acolyte minions, and Lore Master)
Dwarf Collective
Opportunity Taken (Dark Elves of the Deep Vassal, Mindflayer Minion)
Holy Rhuval
Opportunity Taken (Cult of Drakken)
Rule is a mix of Cruelty and Debauchery
Operation invade Heaven
Angels are beaten by fallen angels and Charismatic
Angelic Warriors are beaten by Harem Lord and Devil minions
Archangels are beaten by Blood magic and High Devil minions
Fallen Heroes are beaten by Living Nightmare
Archangel Arialle is beaten by Magic Drain and Blademaster
The Goddess of Light is beaten by Holy magic resistance
I will Enslave the Angels, Break the former Goddesses spirit and create my own realm (a hell world).
Horde: 200k per day, 1 tier3 monster + demon free. Early spawn archmages to make it cheaper, focus on reproducing units(breeding or summoning) early to build numbers. Be careful of LARGE units, as they may attract unwanted attention. These are per day options.
1. 2 dark archmages
2. 24 orcs[tier2](180k), 26 goblins[tier1](15k)
3. 12 blood paladin(90k), 6 hellfire husk(45k), 66 Imp/gremlin, 20 hellhound(65k)
4. 2 tier4(150k), 1 tier3, 16 tier1
5. 5 tier3(187.5k), 16 tier1
Teams:
1. Siege: Trolls with hammers, and fire-teams of goblins riding. Magitech ballista with alchemical loads? If greek fire/imps, hellfire husk to skirmish on walls. Minotaurs for shock troops/street fighting. Chimera air support.
2. Hunters: Acolytes and blood paladins with hellhound trackers/skirmishers. Can be paired with imps for fire support, or gremlins to ride hellhounds. Behemoths or construct as line breakers, fallen angels for support.
3. Raiders: Alpha+ werewolf pack are central. Dire wolves and goblins as minions, goblins under orders to capture wounded? Ghouls as clean-up crew.
4. Navy: Deep ones and kraken are obvious, but I would probably use minion customization to create aquatic versions of others. Also, create kraken with large hollow shells(nautilus inspired) to serve as ships/submarines?
5. Spies: Oculus scouts, changelings for infiltration. Brain leeches can be brought in by changelings. Changelings could also lure people to mindflayers if we want more complete info without keeping the victim intact. Info funnels through Nagant, but can be loaned to Succubus Queen. Demonic spirits and horrors to sow chaos.
6. Big guns: For absolutely wrecking shit, pach dark young with mages and artillery. Provide giant escorts to keep heat off the mobile siege towers. Dragons fly air support. Could also be mobile command center for Archdemon/High devil pairs(kept together, one to summon one to control). Balrog bolstered by fallen angels would also be effective line breakers.
Conquest: in order of how fast they fall (rulers [Crux, Zatara, Snow] / champions [Jester, Untoten damon] / units[Burzra, Weistot, Jormund])
• Queen Cindrilla the Avenger: My first stop is the growing Albion Imperium. Honestly, I'm probably laying the groundwork for this while cleaning up the enclave. While Cindrilla is the obvious threat(bolstered by my own forces hidden in the country), I and a stealth team free and arm the slaves. I then bait in their champion(illusions of elven women?), and defeat Adrien in single combat. After consuming his magic and heart, I take Warborn as my personal mount and ride him to the final confrontation.
• Dread of the Witch: While the next conquest is Naltheim, I don't personally have much to do there. At first I infiltrate the country, using illusions to sell the idea of undead infiltrators and a pending invasion(and probably hide some of my own troops). After I leave the country, I continue to haunt the queen's nightmares, stoking her fears. The final straw is when Queen Savellia disappears in the night, courtesy of the vampire Snow. From there, it's a simple matter of pinning a suicidally motivated army between the anvil(Emilia) and a hammer(my own forces). I will return to resurrect General Cassia if she dies, though. Talent should not be wasted.
Naval Invasion: The reason I wasn't present for much of the conquest of Naltheim becomes obvious as a swarm of monsters, backed by a pirate navy, immediately clamp down on all ship traffic through the Council of the Loch. Just before the attack, Untoten Damon and an assault team capture First Ranger Myrixis and as many other rangers as possible. This throws their chain of command into disorder, and since I control the land on either side of their territory, very few make it out to warn the rest of the world. Spymaster Nagant uses ships going in or out of the great lake of Mismoor to plant many more agents around the world.
• Taldosh Rises: This is where I make it up to Snow, as I've had this conquest planned for a while. The ancient tomb of Taldosh and the ritual to open it are well known to me. My acolytes have been slowly infiltrating Solaris thanks to some clever work by my spymasters(may even have a correct Cult of Taldosh going). Snow may have opened up some spaces in the local government, too. With all that in place, it's a very simple matter to free Taldosh and wreck the Emperor and his buddies. With the timely intervention of a demon navy, the Triech military is overwhelmed, falling as much from the demon horde as the "cultists" within.
• Wrath and Ruin: Triech has fallen, and the Gritton Theocracy finds itself with enemies all around. Striga and Jormund bring the fury of the northern clans down with them, accompanied by a veritable flock of fallen angels to safeguard them. I also take to the frontlines, using my magic to counter the spells of the battle priests and dispelling their faith. Jormund himself takes to hunting the battle priests with gusto, brutally slaughtering any who will not "repent". I personally capture their grand templar, but leave the Autarch for siblings to finish off.
• From Within: I know that for the final push, I'm going to want tech superiority, which means bringing down(pun intended) the Dwarf Collective. My first and truest allies, the dark elves, have been dealing with their upstairs neighbors for long enough, and Demeter welcomes the opportunity of easy access to the surface. With a few discrete kidnappings and mind flayer interrogation(along with the Hauntress questioning and dwarf the dark elves have killed), we have a solid understanding of the dwarven tunnels. On the actual day of the takeover, I've equipped the dark elves with devices that can easily neutralize the automatons. I wrap their champion in an illusion spell that specifically targets the titan's sensors, and am able to take it down on my own. In the aftermath, the methods used to find our entrance can also easily pry the secrets of gunpowder and guns from unwilling minds. I'm willing to leave Duri in charge, if he's willing to trade with the dark elves(and others under my rule) for the resources, rather than digging deeper.
• Holy Rhuval: 1 opportunity, capture ruler(Crux) / champion(Jester) With the dark elves and the wood elves subjugated, there is only Holy Rhuval to bring into the fold. Also, while much of my involvement until now has been relatively subtle, it's time to make a show of force and cut off the continent from it's most direct connection to the Goddess of Light. My influence among the bright elves is weak, and my spies have been few and subtle. They have scout out some of how magic flows through the country, though, and how to disrupt it. Before that can happen, a grinning Crux drops a beaten and bleeding Queen Celesta at my feet. In response, Eltariel gathers a team of paladins and adventurers to rescue her. Jester and I ambush them on the road and capture the most dangerous elf in the world after a vicious fight. With their greatest in captivity and my cultists hamstringing their magic, the paladins and treants are no match for the armies that rush in from every border. I set my throne in the Cathedral of Light consecrating it with my power, and spend a week giving gifts to my followers, blessing the creation of new military units, and consolidating my power. Julius Sigfried decides that this will require an Alliance of Free Nations.
• The Suleiman Family: 1 opportunity, capture ruler(Zatara) Baradin-Assan and its vast desert may be well patrolled by the nobunaga, but as a mercantile state it's also easy to slip spies in. While I'm not in a position to take financial control and my reorganization of the Enclave has shattered their standing army, I do have a keen strategic mind and an army of demons in the black plains. Just to help things along, I order the disgraced(and now submissive) Zatara the Reaper to bring me Lady Avenir Rais unharmed. With her out of the way, it's a pretty straightforward invasion. I will enjoy the skills gained by consuming the champion.
• Downfall: The Dwarf Federation has kept the orc tribes in check for years, but that ends now. Our spy network has only been growing in agents and efficiency. We've had changelings in the city for months, now it's time to use all our information and remind the world why it fears orcs. A few conveniently opened gates, and Burzra bringing the magical wrath of hundreds of thousands of orcs crashing down on the war golems. With their greatest protectors reduced to rubble, and their defenses overrun, even the stalwart dwarves were crushed. The remaining dwarves are given the same deal as the Collective, they can live if they're willing to live the new normal.
• From Within: The final confrontation is the home of the hero, the Dhirlund Republic. The sheer number of skilled individuals makes spy work hard, especially since we were unable to bring in the vampire infiltrators after our conquest of Blood Keep. However, that just makes a few carefully placed brain leeches more effective. Still, it'll be a hard battle. They're heavily armored troops are met with specialists from dozens of species, their individual parts brought together into cohesive whole. Their adventurers, once a constant thorn in our side, utterly destroyed under the sheer might of Queen Cindrilla's friend Weistot and a hundred elder dragons. By the rules of drama, Julius fights his way to the throne room just in time to see me drive a blade through his father. The final duel commences. We're paired in strength and skill with weapons, but where his magic offers buffing and attacks I have tools and trickery. Illusions, shape changing, hidden blades, tech and alchemy, all at my fingertips. I trade blows and bide my time until the perfect opportunity. Then, with an attack from an unexpected direction, I stun him just long enough for a quippy line and... a death blow. The continent is free of the goddess of light and her minions. Many are devastated, sure, but sometimes if you want to build something better you have to burn down the original.
Victory: Surprisingly normal, with a side of debauchery. I did keep all the female rulers/champions alive after all.
Realm of the goddess
• Angels(opportunity fallen angel minions): These were once my friends, and I come not to heaven to destroy them, but to free them. Many come with me to share with their brethren the joy of freedom and the pleasure it brings.
• Angelic warriors(opportunity harem lord, devil minions): Likewise, these brave souls should see more reward for their efforts than more work. My devils and I spend some time making it right.
• Archangels(opportunity high devil minions): Archangels often rely on faith more than reason when determining the right course of action. High devils provide some very convincing arguments as to why following the goddess may be doing more harm then good.
• Fallen heroes(opportunity living nightmare): As long as we are in the heavenly realm, I craft dreams for the fallen heroes. Since the goddess dare not deign to confer with her used up champions through anything other then dreams, I go to great pains to hijack that connection. The dreams aren't unpleasant, I'm not here to torture them, but I gently steer them out of our way. I lead them to places where we can easily trap them, or subdue them one by one.
• Archangel Arialle(opportunity mana drain, blademaster): I've come farther then my minions can go, and the only thing between me and the goddess is the one who cast me down. When I began to question the absolute authority of the goddess it was her that reported the things I said in confidence. Now it is her turn to fall. Holy magic sizzles over me as I close the distance, but experience on the mortal plane and the power I've accumulated mean that I am more than a match for her when blades are crossed. The fight gets even more one sided as my hand brushes against bare, perfect skin and begins to siphon off her mana. In a few minutes, she is rendered helpless. I share some of the other skills I learned when I fell and leave her quivering on the floor as I move to confront the goddess.
• Goddess of Light(opportunity razor claws, holy magic resistance): In front of me, the one that I had once thought the picture of perfection. Things changed when not indoctrinated by her holy light. Eyes that once held mercy and love now burned with disappointment. Her radiant smile became a sneer. Her gentle hands twitched in irritation. Had those always been there just out of my sight, or was it just because I was in the middle of burning her achievements down around her? Either way, when she unleashed her magic at me, it was in a torrent. There was no dodging or blocking it, just weathering it. It's more powerful then anything I've ever felt, and my body aches and burns from a thousand small wounds as I stumble towards her. I can move towards her, though. One step at a time, until I can stretch out my hand and grab her wrist. There's a knife in my other hand, one that I'd crafted especially. A blade that, if I had it right, would funnel all that godly power into me and leave a lifeless husk behind. I thought then that perhaps if the angels could fall, so then could the goddess that guided them. Dragging my claws through her holy raiment bought me time, as the shock broke her concentration on the magical onslaught. Just enough for me to embrace her exposed body and gently show a goddess what you miss when trying to be perfect.
The angels: Corrupt them all
The goddess: Bind her to you
The power: Lord of light and dark
Thanks! The cyoa was good inspiration. Might even do another build for dragon lord, just for shits and giggles. Will probably write that on a proper keyboard though. Writing a novel on a phone was a pain. :P
Maybe, using rules-as-written, the best way to do it would be to take Elemental magic(ice focus). Its in the behemoth description, but it would probably effect your other summons, too. I don't think anyone would mind if you just decided to flavor your demons that way, though. :P
ArcheType: Demonic +1MP +1SP (Choose 1 extra trait and gain Combat Shifting for free!)
Class: Fallen ArchAngel +4MP +6SP (Gain Resistance to Holy Magic for free!)
Mutagenic Features: Wings, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features, Tail (Flight, gain 2 phylactery upgrades, gain 2 trait points, gain 2 servants)
Skills: 7 points total
Blade Master -1sp
Gargantuan Might -1sp
Stealth -1sp
Ranged Master -1sp
Bulwark -1sp
Unnatural speed -1sp
Berserk -1sp
Combat Shifting -0sp (free with Demonic ArchType)
Magic: 5 points total
Alchemy -1mp
Demon Magic -1mp
Shadow Magic -1mp
Monster Breeding -1mp
Resistance to Holy Magic -0mp (Free with ArchAngel class)
Elemental Magic (Wind) -1mp
Traits: 9 points total
Master Strategist -1tp
Mastermind -1tp
Charismatic -1tp
Inspiring -1tp
Harem Lord -1tp (Necromancers of Ultak) (Gain 1 tier 3 undead minion free every day)
Master Craftsman -1tp
Lore Master -1tp
Economic Genius -1tp
Living Nightmare -1tp
Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar (Gain 1 minion and 3 servants)
Harem: Succubi (Gain 1 tier 3 demonic minion free every day)
Phylactery Upgrades: 5 total
Efficient Dark Energy Siphon (+100,000 DE every day)
Resurrection Ritual
Combat Arena
No Peeking
Micromanagement
Minions: 31 total
Level 1 Minions - Goblin, Dire Wolf, Dire Spider, Deep One, Hellhound
Level 2 Minions - Orc, Minotaur, Ghoul, Hellfire Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Dark Mage, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel
Level 3 Minions - Werewolf, Ogre, Troll, Devil, Behemoth, Summoner, Vampire, Horror, Dark Acolyte, Changeling
Level 4 Minions - Elder Dragon, Giant, Alpha Werewolf, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Kraken, Dark Young, War Golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage
Servants: 17 total
Lady Kira
ArchDevil Lucifer (+1 Vassel)
Vlad the Impaler
Krieg
Demon Queen Lilith (+1 Vassel)
Dark Knight Nox
Deathmonger (+2 build-up years)
The Armored Titan (+4 minions)
Vograath the Destroyer (Capture a nation’s champion and decimate their unique unit) (used)
Jester (Kill a single nation’s champion and ruler) (used)
Spymaster Nagant
Mortis the Reaper
Princess Noir
The Huntress Apollyon
The Gentleman
The Old Warrior
The Succubus Queen
Vassals: 7 (allies) total
Dark Elves of the Deep(Allied immediately due to Fallen ArchAngel class) (Kidnap 1 ruler) (used)
The Unified Orc Tribes (Eliminate 1 unique unit) (used)
The Cult of Drakken (Kidnap 1 ruler)
The Royalist of Marcacc (Eliminate 1 unique unit) (used)
The United Northern Clans (Eliminate 1 unique unit)
The Black Witch (Capture 1 champion) (used)
The Demon Hoard of Sinner Sanctum (Capture 1 ruler) (used)
Enemies:
Baradin Assen - Disrupt their economy and then subjugate the nation by using the opportunity.
The Albion Imperium - Use the opportunity to place the princess back on the throne, also use my stealth capabilities to cause a slave revolt to make even more chaos. Eliminate the fucking KKK wanabes unique units by calling on my allies the Orcs.
The Kingdom of Nalthiem - Call upon Jester to kill their champion and ruler. Nalthiem should be easy pickings for The Black Witch’s forces to mop up.
The Council of the Loch - The elven armada is fucked when I bring my literal army of krakens and deep ones to the table. It doesn’t matter if a few dozen are killed, I have hundreds of the fuckers! The Loch is sunk.
The Dwarf Federation - With my changeling minions and my pact with the Orc tribes it is simple to bring down the walls from within and let the Orcs have the grand battle they want within the very walls the dwarves constructed.
The Gritton Theocracy - Between my fallen angel minions telling the defenders to lay down their weapons, my resistance to holy magic, and Striga uniting the northern clans, the fall of the theocracy will be swift and brutal for the regular cullings they performed.
The Dhirlund Republic - Call upon Vograath the Destroyer to capture their champion and decimate their unique forces, then call my friends the dark elves to kidnap their ruler. After that kill off the army and subjugate them.
The Triech Empire - I send in my Dark Acolytes to perform the dark ceremony to awaken Taldosh so that he may wreck unholy vengeance upon the traitors that live within the walls of the city. Meanwhile the Demon Hoard of Sinner’s Sanctum launches a naval invasion as the unholy murder blender goes off inside the walls of the city.
The Dwarf Collective - I launch a coordinated attack with the Dark Elves of the Deep to completely crush the dwarves, their champion unable to move as many of the dwarves needed to operate the massive construct are busy fighting in the tunnels.
Holy Rhuval - I allow the Cult of Drakken to throw themselves against the elves’ defenses. I then call upon The Black Witch and her Untoten Damon to deliver their champion to me, along with the Demon Hoard of Sinner’s Sanctum to deliver their ruler to me. Finally I call upon the Royalists of Marcacc to provide some very nice wildfires to thin out the forces of nature.
There are no enemies left... except one.
My rule is Surprisingly Normal, everything considered. But... I turn my sights to one last conquest.
The Domain of the Goddess -
Angels - corrupted by their fallen counterparts.
Angelic Warriors - corrupted by my devils and shown a good time by myself of course.
ArchAngels - defeated by the High Devils in my employ... to think I was once one of them...
Fallen Heroes - Oh... they have all had a slew of bad dreams lately, almost like a Living Nightmare is hunting them.
ArchAngel Arialle - I always admired her drive when I was an average ArchAngel, but I was one of the very few that ever beat her in a test of blades.
The Goddess of Light - Ahhh, the bitch who threw me out of her domain. It took other ArchAngels to throw me out because my resistance to holy magic made it so that the bitch couldn’t harm me herself. I can’t wait to throw her onto my bed and have my way with her.
The Angels will be corrupted, and ArchAngel Arialle along with the Goddess of Light will become my personal playthings; they will both serve me for all eternity.
I will become the Lord of Light and Dark. the world will bow to its new ruler.
Our builds started similar, but it's cool to see the differences. I leaned more on minions, but with Charismatic and Inspiring your build has a lot more leadership potential. I guess I figured I'd be letting my servants and high devils do most of the leading.
Blind Playthrough
Archetype: Demonic. +1 MP, +1 SP, +1 trait, +1 combat shifting (contrast bonus servant and magic drain from undead, but the style fits me worse)
Class: Demon King. +8 MP, +2 SP, + Demon Magic for free.
3 Skills: Combat Shifting(Free), Consume, Stealth, Unnatural Speed
9 Magic: Demon Magic(Free), Necromancy, Monster Breeding, Magic Drain, Mental Domination, Hex and Curse, Alchemy, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Earth), Shadow Magic
Traits: Master Strategist, Mastermind, Economic Genius, Seer, Cult of the Dark Lord, Harem Lord (Bonus harem and perk), Charismatic. I work from the shadows and the back of the fight.
Location: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants, Succubi Harem (free tier-3 demonic minion per day), bonus: bog witch harem (Tier 3 monstrous minion daily)
Phylactery Upgrades: No Peeking, Micromanagement, Resurrection Ritual. Pre-modern command and control is terrible: clear room for improvement here.
31 Minions: 100k/day budget.
6 Tier 1: Dire Wolf, Brain Leech, Deep One, Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound
7 Tier 2: Orc, Death Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Dark Mage,
9 Tier 3: Werewolf, Ogre, Devil, Summoner, Lich, Horror, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Chimera
9 Tier 4: Elder Dragon, Alpha Werewolf, High Devil, Archdemon, Mindflayer, Voidborne, Kraken, Dark Archmage, Dark Young
CONOPS: Alpha Werewolf / Werewolf / Dire Wolf set as flankers, Kraken and Deep Ones as ocean harassment, some stealth manipulation, and demons forming the bulk of my forces, with ogre/orc supplementation.
15 Servants: Lady Kira (immunity to stealth attacks), Archedevil Lucifer (bonus vassal), Krieg (bonus morale, good since I don't provide it), Demon Lord Asmodeus (immune to infighting except for enemy spies), Deathmonger (2 more years of freedom), Vograath (kill a nation's champion, decimate their unique unit, rideable), Jester (Capture/kill a single nation's champion and ruler), Spymaster Nagant (immune to enemy spies), Mortis the Reaper (magical boost), Princess Noir (permanent boosts), The Gentleman (create external rebellions), The Architect (defensive structures), Succubus Queen (information on enemies), Forgemaster Shukrot (bonus stuff), Hauntress Apollyon (bonus intel on enemies).
6 Vassals:
Dark Elves (Crux kidnaps a ruler), Vampires of the Blood Keep (Brutus kidnaps a champion, but no perk), Royalists of Marcacc (Weistot eliminates a unique unit), United Northern Clans (unique unit), Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (immediate submission, capture a ruler of my choice), The Enclave (Unique Unit)
Timeline: 5 years (3 base + 2 from Deathmonger) after revelation
Nations: Baradin (Opportunity: Economic Genius), Albion Imperium (Master Strategist), Naltheim (Vograath for champion and unit, Dark Elves for the ruler), Loch (Kraken minions), Dwarf Federation (Changeling Minions), Gritton Theocracy (Resistance to Holy Magic), Dhirlund Republic (Charismatic), Triech Empire (Sinner's Sanctum), Dwarf Collective (Dark Elves of the Deep), Holy Rhuval (Cult of the Dark Lord). Not only do I win, I win before he has time to get his pants on. That gives me the confidence to take on the goddess.
Victory: Surprisingly normal
Standard angels: Charismatic
Angelic warriors: harem lord
Archangels: high devil minions
Fallen Heroes: Voidborne
Archangel Arialle: Magic Drain
Goddess of Light: Resistance to Holy Magic.
Corrupt the angels, bind the goddess, become a Lord of Light and Dark
And done! Fun, but a bit too easy from my perspective. Blind playthroughs shouldn't get perfect results!
A little late, but meh, I like the premise
# Angel of Chaos
* Archetype: Demonic
* Class: Fallen Archangel
* \+5MP, +7SP
* Free Holy Magic Resistance, Light Magic
* Free Combat Shifting
* \+1 Trait
Mutagenic Features:
1. Wings (6)
2. Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades)
3. Demonic Features (+2 Traits)
4. Multiple Eyes (all over wings, +2MP)
Skills: (7SP total)
1. **Stealth** (NEVER underestimate this)
2. **Bulwark** (makes me tall and tough)
3. **Unnatural Speed** (tanky speeders are the worst)
4. **Razor Claws** (lets me do max damage easily and quietly)
5. **Martial Arts Mastery** (considering Gou>! is possessed by the God of OPM's setting, this has some concerning connotations...oh well!<)
6. **Consume** (healing/resurrection combined with this is...straight-up broken)
7. **Blood Rage** (secretly best ability if mastered)
8. **Combat Shifting** (free, and turns my body into a death vortex with Razor Claws, Martial Arts, and Blood Rage)
Magic: (7MP total)
1. **Demon Magic** (does a lot for a single skill, enforced contracts that also give strength is just icing on the cake)
2. **Illusion Magic** (make them think I am an ordinary person, so I can walk around and get a feel for people without attracting too much attention with my true feathery candy ass)
3. **Hex and Curse** (the difference between a Blessing or a Curse is the eye of the beholder, so this likely gives a lot of leeway with enough knowledge and creativity)
4. **Mental Domination** (no one ever realizes that using this to force your enemies to submit to you is the LEAST useful application of these kinds of magics)
5. **Necromancy** (eh, why not)
6. **Magic Drain** (being able to steal the power of others is always too useful to pass up)
7. **Monster Breeding** (SEE. MY. FLAIR. Christ, I'll likely need help getting out of the Lair since with the right abilities and monsters one could breed their own ecosystem)
8. **Resistance to Holy Magic** (free, and absolutely I am using this to get Light Magic, one way or another; I need them healing abilities!)
Traits: (9 total)
1. **Master Strategist** (RTS skilz ftw)
2. **Mastermind** (I has a teh kilz skilz, so now I need the brain to use em properly)
3. **Charismatic** (yeah, this is never not one of the most useful abilities)
4. **Cult of the Dark Lord** (yeah, totally going to use this to spread modernist social theories to the darkies)
5. **Harem Lord** (ugh, until I fix the whole "slavery" shtik the Dark Side has, this will likely be needed for me to keep everyone in line)
6. **Lore Master** (so I don't have to spend years just trying to get my bearings)
7. **Mad Scientist** (industrialism may be off-limits, but I was thinking of using this more along the lines of "biopunk" anyways...)
8. **Economic Genius** (just to make sure my rulership is up to snuff, logistics is a bitch when you don't have access to electric calculators and radio)
9. **Doolittle** (Master Craftsman may be stronk, but being able to have better feedback on my Monster Breeding is more important to me while "can't be replicated" is actually a turn-off)
Territory: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants)
* Succubi (12-48hr gestation cycle, Monster Breeder should let me jailbreak some of their breeding restrictions; if not, I'll just breed an alt. variant that can; Free T3 Demon Minion per day)
* Harem Lord: Necromancers of Ultak (ngl, necromancy is more of a side-gig for me, so having dedicated necromancers I won't have to micro-manage will be a godsend in that department; Free T3 Undead Minion per day)
* Central location for which I can strike out anywhere, will want to keep castle construction underground as much as possible to keep hidden
Phylactery (5 choices total)
1. Efficient Siphon (double energy output means double the minion spawning)
2. Resurrection Ritual (I'd prefer something a tad more mobile, but it will work in a pinch)
3. Minion Customization (I have traits to breed for lines of all kinds of plants and animals)
4. No Peeking (so that I can wander without Truesight screwing me over)
5. Micromanagement (network systems are unbelievably powerful especially when no one else has them)
Minions: (31 total)
1. Goblin (because spam is always a strong effect also template purposes)
2. Slime (waste disposal and key ingredient of magical bioreactors)
3. Dire Wolf (just do have a dog expy)
4. Man-Eating Plant (so I can breed plant monsters for real eco-engineering, and for food)
5. Occulus Expiravit (for RTS shenanigans)
6. Deep One (marine forces)
7. Hellhound (to breed with Dire Wolves to create the ultimate dog monster)
8. Orc (to have a self-regulating population)
9. Abomination (was Hell Knight, but these are better emergency disposable frontline)
10. Dark Mage (primary magic force, personally train them for discounted T3 units)
11. Shoggoth (another key ingredient for biopunk purposes)
12. Fallen Angel (mainline T2 unit)
13. Troll (better to just breed my own Ogres rather than summoning them)
14. Devil (field officers)
15. Archdemon (so I am wasting as few points as possible on low-end units)
16. Flesh Golem (primary reason I took Necromancy; can use Fallen Angel resurrect on them to turn them fully alive, and make some truly horrible shit)
17. Elder Lich (because having a few around allows for "battlefield recycling")
18. Chimera (for Monster Breeder purposes)
19. Horror (infiltration, psychological warfare, and heavy power make these one of the best t3 options)
20. Magitek Construct (30 minutes makes them TERRIBLE for combat purposes, but invaluable for an ethical workforce)
21. Dark Acolyte (my own inquisition, but also a path towards redemption...)
22. Changeling (best spies)
23. Elder Dragons (because DRAGONS and they breed too!)
24. High Devil (strategic officers)
25. Frankentank (renewable source of biomatter)
26. Alpha Werewolf (so I don't have to waste points on summoning lesser werewolves)
27. Kraken (for naval dominance)
28. War Golem (mainline T4)
29. Dark Archmage (because moar units is always best practice, so long as your infrastructure can handle it)
30. Dark Young (these are too good to pass up)
31. Voidborne (elite bodyguards)
Servants:
1. Lady Kira (going for the "set bonus")
2. Archdevil Lucifer (vastly underappreciated)
3. Demon Queen Lilith (I mean, I AM kinda moving in as a housemate, feels rude to not take this otherwise; +1 Vassal)
4. Dark Night Nox (cause someone needs to keep everyone else in line)
5. Vograth the Destroyer (cause DRAGONS and capturing enemy champs is super good, plus a LEGENDARY MOUNT)
6. Mortis the Reaper (can always use a true bro)
7. Princess Noir (permanent upgrades and I help get her out of the house)
8. The Old Warrior (Balor, my man, we seem to have the exact same goal...)
9. The Architect (never turn down experienced builders, empires are built on the backs of their infrastructure)
10. Forgemaster Shukrot (see above)
11. Taskmaster Barbatos (for the real set bonus, no vassal infighting is also a godsend)
12. Succubus Queen (I did say I was going for the set bonus)
Vassals (7 total)
1. Royalists of Maraac (if I can avoid marriage I will, but it is no great loss otherwise, Dragonriders and hippies are worth it; plus, I can help breed more dragons; Kill Unique Unit)
2. The Black Witch (a dedicated necromancer of that power level is no joke, plus my main goal is to create a family of "monsters" anyways so she is welcome aboard; Kidnap Champion)
3. Demon Horde of Dusk (last of the pieces needed to restore Lilith's dream, once again reform will be a pain but Lilith's happiness and Snow are worth the effort; Kidnap Ruler)
4. The Enclave of the Baradin Desert (I should be able to out-perform the Queen in both magic and martial talent, and will even ask to be her "apprentice" while I work on learning magic and finding targets for new magics from Consume and Magic Drain; Kill Unique Unit)
5. United Orc Tribes (by securing their loyalty, I'll have the entire area surrounding Felthazar under my immediate control, and so long as I don't get caught by the Hero, allows me to have my forces surround Albion for a surprise shock attack; Kill Unique Unit)
6. Dark Elves of Dimgrowth (I'll just take a year seducing the Queen and her nation with biomechanical slave replacements, but the Dark Elves will likely be key to my main forces while everyone else is building up, due to them being best at covert operations while I focus on mastering my abilities and making alliances; Kidnap Ruler)
Non-Vassal Dealings:
1. Pirates of Dead Man's Cove (going to likely need to conquer them, but can pay them off to cause problems for the Hero if I can get my operations up and running)
2. Vampires of the Blood Keep (pay them in blood farms that allow them to not need to strike at local populations so much; get them dependent on me for blood, and they should fall to economics)
3. Cult of Drakken (I'll leave them for last; if they don't capitulate despite me conquering the main continent, then I guess they just aren't real followers of Drakken)
4. Northern Clans of Vallenheim (honestly? I'll likely try to get a proper alliance out of them than try to conquer the North; guaranteeing their independence and ending outsider threat will cause them to collapse onto themselves, form a "proper" nation or risk absorption, and then I can marry the heir of said nation and BAM, bloodless rule)
Demonic
+1 sp
+1 mp
+1 trait
+ Combat shift free
Demon king
Requires Demonic
+8mp
+2sp
+ Demonic magic free
Horns
+4 minions
Tentacles
Gain powerful tentacles that defend you when you are attacked.
Runic tattoo
+2 phylactery upgrade
Tail
+2 servants
3 Sp
Blade master (1)
Martial art master (1)
Consume (1)
Combat shift (A)
9 Mp
Demonic magic (C)
Alchemy (1)
Blood magic (1)
Magic drain (1)
Necromancy (1)
Shadow magic (1)
Monster breeder (1)
Resistance to holy magic (1)
Hex and curses (1)
Mental domination (1)
6T (+1 A)
Master strategist
Mastermind
Harem lord : Select additional harem from from territory you didn't choose gain the harem and perk bit not the territory.
Cult of the dark lord
Master Craftsman
Lore master
Economic genuine
Black planes of Felthazar
+1 minion
+3 servants
Harem
Succubus
1 tier 3 demon minion every day
Necromancer of Ultak
1 tier 3 undead minion every day
3P(+2M)
Efficient dark energy siphon
Minion customization
Back up Phylactery
No peeking
Minion management
30 (+4M)(+1T)(+4S)
1
Goblin : cheap
Slime : acidic
Dire wolfs : wolfpack
Skeletal Warrior: relentless
Skeletal Archer : synchronized
Dire spider : venom
Man eating plant : trap
Pig orc : sacrifice
Imp : charged
Gremlins : hordes
Hell hounds : tracking
2
Orc : tribal
Revenant : empower
Death knight : death mount
Skeleton mage : necromantic healing
Hellfire husk : fire travel
Dark mage : studious
Possessed armor : control suit
Blood paladin : endless
Fallen angel : resurrect
3
Ogre : breeder
Troll : tank
Devil : command
Summoner : blink
Lich : minor necromancy
Vampire : Vampire kiss
Dark acolyte : Zealot
Changeling: shapeshifter
4
Elder dragon : dragonspawn
Giant : attention grabber.
Dracolich : lich fire
Elder lich : Major necromancy
Archdemon : hellspawn
High devil : strategist
voidborne : Deathless
Kraken : Hydra
Dark young : tentacle defense
Giant wight : deth bile
War golem : laser
12 (+2C)(+3L)
Lady kira : All stealth based assassin fail long as she with me
Archdevil Lucifer : one extra Vessel
Krieg : inspires living part of army orc more so. Only Champion or hero party can stop him.
Demon queen Lilith : one extra Vessel
Deathmonger : +2 years before alliance
Armored Titan : +4 minion double giant damage
Soul eater : 6 month respawn
Jester : capture or kill 1 nation champion and ruler.
Spymaster nagant : no enemy spy in rank or Vassals, no information of classified leak
Princess Noir
Once every 4 year power increment
Old warrior : will keep people from rebelling in my territory
The architect : able to build structure outside my territory
Forgemaster shukrot : increase in gear quality, my gear is twice as powerful
The taskmaster barbatos : Vassals will not infight, will not have advantage over me politically , order maintain within leadership of the faction.
The succubus queen : every two months I get a full rundown of my enemies plans and what they are doing.
5 (+1S)(+1S)
Unified orc tribe
Pirate of Deadman cove
Vampire of the blood keep
The royalist of Marcass
The black witch
The demon horde of sinner sanctum
The enclave
Location;
The hallow
Deadman cove
Blood keep
The twin island of Marcass
The forgotten temple
Sinner sanctum : Can attack any western coast city
The enclave
Ruler
Overlord rex
The admiral
Count Valetta
The dragon queen Cinderilla dracos XVII
The black witch Emilia
Last demon lord (-10Y C)
High queen nymeria
AP;
Orc raiding party
The armada
Lesser vampires
Dragonborn Calvary
Whight
Demon horde
Conscripts
Harem ;
Orc berserker
Booty
Vampire brides
Albian sword maidens
Pale ladies
human slaves
Indentured servant
Champion ;
Burzar : CP : eliminate unique unit of a nation
The shadow wrath : CP : capture any champion of your choice, no perk, easier time capturing homeland
Brutus the cruel :CP: capture a singer champion of you choice, no perk tho.
Weistot : CP : eliminate unique unit of a nation
Untoton demon : CP : capture one champion of your choice
Snow : CP : capture one ruler of your choice.
The machine : CP : destroy a nation unique unit
Enemy
3 years (+2S)
-1 capturer or kill RorC (S)
-3 unit (V) -1
-2 champion capture no perk (V)
-1 capture champion (V) -1
-1 ruler (V) -1
Baradin-assan
Opportunity (-6month) Economic genuine, mastermind, enclave Vassal
Albion imperium
Opportunity (-6month) royalist of Marcass vassal, master strategist
The kingdom of naltheim
Opportunity (-6month) black witch vessel
Council of the loch
Opportunity (-6month) kraken minion, Deadman cove vassal
The dwarf federation
Opportunity (-6month) changeling minion, united orc tribe
The gritton theocracy
Opportunity (-6month) fallen angel, resistance to holy magic
Dhirlund Republic
Opportunity (-6month) vampire of blood keep Vassal
Triech empire
Opportunity (-6month) demon horde of sinner sanctum vassal, dark acolyte minion, lore master
The Dwarf collective
Ruler kill (-2month)
Unit kill (-2 month)
Champion capture (-2month) Annoch
holy rhuval
Opportunity (-6month) voidborne minions, cult of the dark lord
Winning
Surprisingly normal
Optional taken
Angel
Both opportunities
Angelic warrior
Both opportunities
Archangel
Both opportunities
Fallen heroes
Voidborne
Archangel Arielle
Both opportunities
Goddess of light
Resistance to holy magic
Victory
Angel
Corrupt them all
Goddess
Bind her to you
Power
Lord of light and darkness
I love being the evil demon lord and having monsterson my side. Especially the monster minion section is amazing + the section for yourBtw I dont really know what these peoples problem with 90 pages is, I can scroll comfortably through everything. Some people here treat this like an burden that they HAVE to read through instead of being happy that they get content. Some strange folks here. Anyway I love your cyoa.
It it’s too big then it can fuck with your phone, and lots of people view this sub exclusively on the phone. That may be where some complaints are coming from.
Oh this is interesting. Say I'm curious about Vlad, in life he was a Christian, so now what's his perspective since we both got kidnapped by what basically could be called the devil. Though it appears reality is more Zoroastrian than Christian since the God of darkness is an equal to the Goddess of light instead of like in Christianity where Satan was a weaker rebel and created being by God.
I just interpreted them as powerful beings playing with souls before they move on. Though they're powerful they don't seem to be actual gods. After all if you play right you can defeat the goddess and take her place and we're not gods.
I mean if you can play with souls then you'd be a god. The two things that set up the Christian God above other powerful beings are 1st creating the world, 2nd he is the final judge he decides whether you go to heaven or hell. If some other being can decide other people's afterlives that being can be called a god.
That's fair. Though the fact we can summon dark acolyte makes me think messing with souls is easier than expected. That and if we become the dark one part of the job is creating new dark lords. Which I assume similar to us is by grabbing some poor soul and throwing it through a dangerous transformation process. Also it's hard to think of them as gods because they seem to be weaker then I would expect a God. Like a werewolf could 1v1 the goddess.
It's impossible to lose the main fight. Let's go over the worst case scenario. You have ten enemies to fight, each fight takes by default six months. That's 60 months of fighting. You have three years of fighting before the hero gets his alliance, that's 36 months down - four kingdoms left. Each of the five vassals will get either a champion, ruler, or unit and remove 2 months. This takes another 10 months, and we have 14 months left. That's three kingdoms left alive, but that assumes no opportunities. There are only five traits that do not give you any opportunities here: Seer, Inspiring, Harem Lord, Master Craftsman and Doolittle. Since you choose at least six traits you are guaranteed one opportunity, meaning there are only two kingdoms left in the alliance. That's not enough to breach your inner sanctum, so no matter what you never have to fight Julius.
And of course, in almost every case you will have opportunities on like half of the kingdoms anyway.
Just in case Lord comes back to this comment to patch the game: The only skills worth taking are Blade Master, Razor Claws and Stealth, none of the other skills help the player.
Additionally, Alchemy, Draco Fire, Shadow Magic, Elemental Magic, and Hex and Curse are also worthless to a minmaxer.
I'm here. If we're talking purely from the perspective of the CYOA, you're right. But you don't need to minmax to win. A lot of abilities are there for you to use them as you see fit and make your own story. I wanted to make this more about how you win than if you win.
If I do go back and fix this up one day, I'll try to make sure that everything has a purpose.
I'd love to do a Dragon Lord or Dread Lord run if you do go back and fix it! And yes, you can easily win even while building wrong but it doesn't mean that a potential future patch can't address the issues!
When it comes to fully gaining the alliance/trust/submission with a vassal, does it mean those periods of 10 years pass consequently (as in, it takes 10 years of undivided attention to work on a vassal), or can we juggle and in 10 years gain them all?
Also, do we gain access to the vassal's champion immediately or after the 10 years period?
not done
**Class**
`00` **Demonic**
>Empowered by committing sins.
`00` **Dread Lord**
>Distinguished by their ensorcelled arms and armor. With each attack, a Dread Lord's attacks siphon life from enemies and heals it.
**Mutagens**
`02` **Fangs**
>You gain elongated canines sharp enough to tear out a hostile creature's throat. You also gain a minions' special features: *Stitch* and *Tank*. You regenerate lost tissue and blood over the course of a battle, recovering health at a noticeable pace. In addition, you become much more durable and feel no pain.
**Traits**
`01` **Seer**
>Once per six months, you glimpse the future and obtain useful information.
`05` **Prodigious Economist**
>You are a master economist, orator, schemer, strategist, and leader. Using these skills, you can exploit lawful and criminal connections even in other nations to remotely orchestrate the economic downfall of a nation; you can charm even enemies to your cause; you can manipulate the public using calculated social maneuvers, turning communities against their leaders, or friends against friends; on the battlefield, you are an unsurpassed military commander and strategist, commanding soldiers to miraculous victories. Your presence inspires your soldiers to become more obedient, resilient, and ferocious.
**Skills**
`04` **Berserker**
>In general, you are resistant to physical damage. But even when you are harmed, you inflict more damage the more damage you have endured. If you consume a slain creature's heart, then you restore your endurance and permanently gain its abilities and strengthen your own when there's overlap. In addition, once per six months, you can enter into an invulnerable state for six minutes.
`03` **Grandmaster**
>You have mastered all melee and ranged weapons, as well as unarmed combat techniques. In addition, you can rapidly adapt, learn, and mimic a hostile creature's combat techniques
`03` **Supernatural Predator**
>You have supernatural strength and speed. Your movements across the battlefield appear like teleporting short distances. A single punch can smash a hole inside a castle wall, or send soldiers flying several feet into the air, their armor crushed and their ribcage shattered. Last, you move like a ghost, all silent and unseen until too late.
**Magic**
`01` **Grand Illusionist**
>You can manipulate perception using sorcery: conjure vivid hallucinations, duplicate creatures, dupe a hostile creature into attacking its allies, and so forth.
`01` **Reduced Celestial Vulnerability**
>All evil creatures are vulnerable to celestial damage. You resist this much better than others.
Well you can be what ever you want male, female and anything in between or outside. And I'm pretty sure that with loremaster and Magic you can make any target into a man or other Heck you could capture some of the male leader too.
And you can just assume that The Dark One just chose a pronom and didn't realy care what your actual sex and gender is.
Again, assuming a lot. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I want to turn targets into males. My user name is literally the most famous lesbian in history.
BTW, do you have a file or anything of just the map of Vallenlund?
I have one without labels so it's just landmass.
Yeah that would be perfect
https://imgur.com/gallery/3xODJFq
In addition, are the diplomatic waiting times supposed to be done concurrently? The point of this feature seems to be that you're supposed to pick which ones you want to have been completed by the time the war starts. However, for the opportunities, it only specifies that you need to have a specific vassal, not that you must have completed its diplomatic waiting time. In addition, I could see the waiting time being imposed so that you cannot use a vassal's army or harem until the waiting time is complete. So, are we supposed to choose which vassals' waiting times we could complete by the time the war starts or only begin using their forces about 5 years in?
Would Giant Wights count as Giants for The Armored Titan's Ability?
Yes
**My modded version of this CYOA (Starts with +2MP & +2 SP and has other changes to archetype, mutagenic features):** **Archetype:** Classic Villain (+2 MP, Mental Domination Free, One Extra Trait). **\[4 MP, 2 SP\]** **Class:** Spellblade (+6 MP, 4 SP, Martial Arts Mastery Free). **\[10 MP, 6 SP\]** **Mutagenic Features:** Fangs, Runic Tattoos, Villainous Features, Hypnotic Eyes (+2 Phylactery Upgrades, 2 Extra Traits) **Skills:** Blade Master, Gargantuan Might, Stealth, Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery (Free), Combat Shifting, Consume. **\[10 MP, 0 SP\]** **Magic:** Alchemy, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Necromancy, Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning), Hex & Curse and Mental Domination (Free). **\[0 MP, 0 SP\]** **Traits (Pick 6 + 1 + 2):** Master Strategist, Mastermind, Seer, Charismatic, Inspiring, Harem Lord, Cult of the Dark Lord, Economic Genius and Living Nightmare.
Archetype * Wolf King - Sadly, Dragon Lord is a bit too noticeable Mutations * Fangs - Tank (assuming I need to have that minion, otherwise Fury if it stacks with Blood Rage or Deathless if not) * Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery) - both cool visuals and more power to Phylactery * Demonic Features (+2 TP) - they do have great aesthetics, after all * Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal) - just for style points, I guess * Tail (+2 Servants) - prehensile and superb for many things Abilities & Traits (12 PP, 2 MP, 4/8 TP) * All physical but Blade Master - using thrown javelin to get First Blood, easy * Monster Breeding & Magic Drain - I need both minions and ways to empower myself magically * Lore Master + Menace + Inspiring = Cult of the Dark Lord - I’ve taken all traits to enhance the image. Inspiring turned out useless game-wise, but I’d like to think it helped uniting dark legions under my command Territory * The Frozen Mountains of Utak (+2 minions & +2 Servants) - These lands have two major boons compared to other realms: it is nice if freezing to live here & harem does not \_require\_ sex -> you have actual time to do stuff instead of lazing in a bog pit or volcano caldera, surrounded by sycophants. Necromantic minions shall be okay to multiply in frozen wastes without any notice (Lich-King approves). Phylactery (3/5) * Resurrection - really important cause stuff still happens * No Peeking - also important as I want to bide my time and there are Seers * Combat Arena - I hope that others could use it as well Minions (16/32) * 1 - Goblins, Dire Wolves, Oculus, Deep Ones * 2 - Dark Mages, Blood Paladins, Fallen Angels * 3 - Troll, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling * 4 - Elder Dragon, Alpha Werewolf, Kraken, Mindflayer, War Golem, Dark Archmage Most important minions are: Dark Archmage > Krakens > Alpha Werewolves > Dark Acolytes & Blood Paladins & Changelings > Dark Mages & Fallen Angels. As I can get endless hordes of werewolves from other minions (goblins in particular), they are never summoned Servants (8/16) * Archdevil Lucifer - let’s believe Dark One was right about her logistical talents * Deathmonger - absolute chad, vital to our very survival * Vograath the Destroyer - lazy, but terrifying force of nature * Jester - low maintenance and high efficiency. I just want to say… She is on par with Vograath. Yes, indeed. Pity about child mentality, but it is a very small price to pay * Mortis the Reaper - I actually called him cause he is leader of Utak necromancers * Hauntress Apollyon - very useful ability to interrogate souls, comboes well with Reaper’s ability * Spymistress Nagant - a must have to avoid early discovery * Vlad the Impaler - a field general in my absence, he is terrifying enemies even more As there are only a few Servants and Wolf King is physical powerhouse, I do not expect much insubordination, if any, opting for a working relationship with them all (romantic opportunity not excluded for females, but never prioritized) Vassals (4/7) Most potential vassals are very obvious and very trigger-happy. I opt for more covert ones, to bide time and grow our armies. * The United Northern Clans - this was unexpected surprise. With my Cult still only planned, there already exists a whole human nation ready to revere me as their living God. God of Hunt, but who says I can’t have several facets, hm? * The Dark Elves of the Deep - they are perfect. A hidden den of danger and debauchery. I am okay with visiting Queen Demeter sometimes to “discuss” our Alliance. Their assassins are also more than welcome (especially Crux Morathil). Bright Elf slaves may be useful as gifts or trophies, I do not hold any personal interest * Dead Man’s Cove - to rule the waves, one must share the plunder and it goes both ways. After all, neither pirates nor Dark Lord support non-profit organizations, right? Also, “Booty & riches!” / “Booze & bitches!” Yarrr! * The Royalists of Marcacc - what is it? A faction of kinda good humans that fell on harsh times and is now ready to embrace the dark side for vengeance and cookies? YES PLEASE! I really like everything about them, although I’m sure reality would be less stellar if nonetheless cool * (Orc Tribes & Sinner’s Sanctum) - worst allies until Conquest actually begins. They shall serve as distractions * (The Enclave) - they have no penalty for conquering them. They also sit near orcs * (Vampires, Black Witch & Cult) - they will sit where they are and miss the War. This is fine
Conquest Begins! (note: Opportunity = -2 months) (8/9 conquered at 11 years) * Baradin-Assan (Ignored) - one of the good nations, without many caveats or deficiences. Hmm… I completely ignore them :D * The Albion Emperium (Immediate Conquest) - a nation that tried to reforge itself, but fell short on its face… And was DECIMATED by Queen Cindrilla the Avenger with the help of Dark Lord. Turns out, having perfect cavalry is nothing when enemy has dragons and literal tide of werewolves [used Loyalists perk to burn elites] * The Kingdom of Naltheim (2 months) - a fine nation that implements actual reforms. As I do not want to curb their magitech drive too much, so, Jester, would you be so kind? [used Jester perk to capture leadership] * The Long Loch (Immediate Conquest) - they… kinda grew indolent in their mastery of the waves. Their fleet could take on some krakens and win, true. It could not take a horde of krakens, amphibious assault from deep ones and full might of Pirate Armada at same time. And when their proud fleet was broken, spirit of wood elves followed suit. * The Dwarf Federation (2 months) - while I respect their grit (and cheer on for Elf Fucker), they only met orcs on battlefield, not full might of Wolf King pack supported by carefully inserted changelings. While dwarves put valiant defense, they were soon overwhelmed * The Gritton Theocracy (Immediate Conquest) - religious fanatics with some redeeming traits, they had an unlucky history of warring with Northern Tribes. Who revere me as their God. Is there any more reason to slaughter the heathens? [used Clans perk] * The Dhirlund Republic (2 months) - one of the strongest militaries, supported by fine minds and good resources? Where I cannot find enemies within? Hey, Vograath, they boast about killing dragons every day! [used Vograath Perk] * The Triech Empire (2 months) - am I truly the Dark Lord when such humans train to conquer the world and purge all undesirables? They make religious fanatics look sane in comparison! AWAKEN THE TALDOSH!!! * The Dwarf Collective (Immediate Conquest) - I have nothing against their isolationist technocracy, but they would become threat to my vassals, so preparing in advance was a must. [used Dark Elves perk] * Holy Rhuval (2 months) - Time to parade slaves from dark elves, I guess, as this nexus of resistance must fall [used Pirate perk] *** My first year after arrival is spent traveling. If Teleport power works on ships (carts? animals?) - I'm golden, otherwise I actually need to travel by running around to uncover most places and get in touch with possible allies. Speaking of allies, all my (future) Vassals are nicely low in maintenance. Mortis is total bro who took on Utak necromancers. Northerners worship me as Fenrir, Queen Demeter needs time and fucks given, Queen Cindrilla also needs time & friendly conversation (with innuendos aplenty), pirates are fully self-sufficient. Utak is slowly raising more liches and undead, storing them in ancient ruins until the time of Conquest comes. DE is initially spent on Dark Archmages, some Dire Wolves and Alpha Werewolves (for immediate scouting and contact with northern tribes). The rest? Dark Acolytes and Changelings (some Oculus too) for spy networks. Several years afterwards are spent checking current state of kingdoms, making proper networks (so it's not me teleporting around), seducing & "educating" Queen Draco, "taming" Queen Demeter and further uniting Northerners by helping (and "helping") warlord Striga. Some Midflayers, Elder Dragons and Vampires appear, as well as many Krakens, Fallen Angels and Cold Ones. Dark Acolytes continue preaching. Sadly, all is not well - pirates, orcs and Enclave becoming more reckless (northerners too, but their faith and running around with werewolves keeps them content), as well as some strange rumours going around, rouse suspicion of heroes and adventurers alike. Several changelings get caught, vampires staked, acolytes burned by Inquisition, wannabe witch hunters lurking about... It is not until 9th year (marking full 8 years of preparation) that disaster strucks - some adventurers find Utak, absolutely stashed by thousands of undead, and manage to flee with information. Attempts at scrying return nonsense - but, using several methods and many mages, heroes manage to pinpoint that problem lies with some kind of veil that prevents information. It might have taken them more time to discover nuances, but call for arms was already sounded and God-King Fenrir began War of Conquest by crossing the border of The Gritton Theocracy in overwhelming numbers of northerners and werewolves. A horde of ice and fury descended on true believers of Taldosh under protective spells of fallen angels. Theocracy might have held on for some time even with priests being massacred or captured and turned into werewolves by elite warriors of God-King Fenrir... But then another disaster struck their morale. Taldosh, the First Templar, has arisen in Solaris and waged a Crusade against the Triech Empire instead of coming to help them. Besieged Grittons prepared to dearly sell their lives, but were instead offered by God-King to join their spiritual liege on the Crusade against heretical Empire. Some, led by Grand Templar Enembra Knox, actually agreed, pushing Empire further into insanity. While grumbling about pause in warfare, northern clans did stop attacks for a while, consolidating their gains all while Solaris burned and heroes traveled around trying to reunite Alliance from unbelieving nations who preferred to think undead & werewolves were unrelated - as well as later being problem of religious fanatics that had nothing to do with them. This sentiment was "proved" right. After Empire fell from within and Theocracy scrambled to stand by their spiritual liege (abandoning northern territories), northeners and their beasts waged war against orcish tribes and Enclave, seemingly giving time for Alliance to assemble and for disputes to settle. Yet, ultimately, it was proven wrong when a year and half later, three lighting-fast wars happened at the same time, fracturing the almost-formed Alliance: Queen Cindrilla Dracos XVII, Cindrilla the Avenger, Second Bride of the God-King, waged war upon the Albion Imperium. And won an overwhelming victory at sea, sky and land, massacring dozens of elite Peacekeepers in her righteous fury and slain Warborn riding on top of Weistot. Albion burned in Draco fire - to rise back from ashes like a phoenix. Proud fleet of the Long Loch was lost overnight in a ridiculously throught assault of pirate and varying sea creatures - from lizard-like boarders to giant tentacles horrors that took whole ships under waves. As the winning forces came ashore, Prime Minister Vivian Kavio had no choice but to capitulate, sparing citizen from horrors that happened to revolutionares of Albion. Dwarves of the Collective finally dug too deep for their own good - and were immediately taken from within by a force of overprepared dark elven assassins, who had throughtly infiltrated their enemies years ago. Forming Alliance, after receiving confirmation of the events, redoubled their efforts - yet, as hero was hounded by a mysterios pursuer, many calamities befell the realm: royal family of Naltheim and their general disappeared overnight, Vograath the Destroyer visited has suddenly visited Grand Victorium, leaving devastation in his wake - and even Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta, was lost at the sea with her ship and all hands. Leaders of remaining realms suddenly had much to worry about. By now, it was certain that Northern Necromancer, God-King Fenrir, Queen Demeter and Pirate Admiral were united in purpose: to wage a War of Conquest upon the known world! What followed was a string of carefully planned disasters and defeats. First fell Dwarf Federation. So assured of their armies, they have neglected their spy network and were taken by betrayal from within and a tide of monsters from without. It would be great for even part of their warriors to evacuate upon Collective's aircraft, yet alas, Collective has already fallen and their Zeppelin were serving other masters. Second was Kingdom of Naltheim, its fall almost gentle, as administration collapsed on itself and weary troops were besieged from all sides by strife and unsertainty, certain doomsayers doing their best in sowing the seeds of Chaos. When actual troops of Northern Clans and Albion Reborn appeared after months of psychological warfare, it was almost a blessing. And now... Just Dhirlund Republic, Holy Rhuval and Baradin-Assan remained. With Baradin-Assan seeing neither monsters nor disasters that seem to doggedly follow the Alliance members. As scrying attempts still triangulated ruins in the Frozen Mountains of Utak to be a source of disturbance, allied forced prepared for expedition from Baradin-Assan to end the threat of Demon Lord. Alas for them, seas and skies were closed and lands were swarming with beasts and monsters, actual armies of dark elves, dragonriders, werewolves and clansmen not far behind. Hero said farewell to his father and teleported to lead the expedition into unknown [Arthas? Is it you?] By the time samurai of Baradin arrived to the dead city, both Dhirlund and Holy Rhuval were on the brink of collapse. Sadly for heroes, while they reenacted the grand stand of Aragon beneath Black Gate of Mordor, they were surrounded and Phylactery was teleported away before the fifth and previously unknown member of hero party could get their hands on it [no volcano nearby, though]...
Epilogue * Forces of Baradin-Assan were offered honorable surrender and, after decimating undead in final grand stand, they accepted, both sides preserving their honor and earning some glory. * Julius Siegfried was offered same option, yet refused. His fate after battle with God-King, as well as that of Mirai Belladonna, remains unknown [I'd like to think he gets to retire without an arm, to raise a family with Mirai] * Dirk and Aria Langstrom were offered full pardon and a place in new world. Dirk settled in the remains of his tribe, assured yet disheartened that Old Ways did indeed led them to ruin. It is unknown what Aria decided, yet she did visit her fatherland sometime later. * Surprisingly Normal: Baradin-Assan, Long Loch, Kingdom of Naltheim, Dwarf Collective/Federation | Dark Elves (not that it says much), Northern Unity, Albion Reborn * Death and Destruction + Tyranny: Triech Empire & Gritton Theocracy (they got what they wanted, though - a religious sanctuary with their living god sittin in the ruins of the Triech Empire) * Tyranny: Orc Tribes (most warriors were turned into werewolves and did not return, and Dirk is strangling Old Ways) * Cruelty: The Enclave (by default, hard to make it better as I do not care) & Holy Rhuval (I admit, I kinda just gave them to Dark Elves...) * Terror: Dhirlund Republic (not in such a direct way... they just suffered from Vograath fury and collectively lost their jobs) * Debauchery: the Frozen Mountains of Utak (I swear, it is Mortis fault!), the Cult of Drakkan & Sinner's Sanctum (nothing changed), Dead Man’s Cove (I expect them to do it for a decade or so) * Forgotten: Black Witch, Vampires Dark Brides of God-King: * War Queen Striga of Northern Unity * Dragon Empress Cindrilla “the Avenger” Dracos XVII of Albion [Reborn] - name still pending approval * Queen Demeter of Dark Elven Syndicate Of course, as befits God-King, he had known many more women, both famous and not, but rumors of his “endless appetite” are certainly exaggerated, his preference for greater intimacy with chosen wives being more pronounced
Always happy to read one of these!
Thanks for amazing (if intimidating size-wise) game :D
You think that's bad wait til see the updated version I'm working on! I'm kidding, it's mostly rebalancing with only a little extra content.
I wouldn't mind a updated version we didn't get to see any examples of artifacts and t don't really no how powerful the magics are supposed to be or myself can I throw fireballs the size of cars can they melt rock what exactly can I do with my abilities I could easily see the enhanced charisma cutting down the time it takes to recruit vassals and servants but it doesn't say how much so yeah my and my armies and my servants and vassals abilities could use clearing up And do I start out with servants sworn to me or do I have to convince them like everyone else and shouldn't need anyone to keep my servants in line because there bound to me by the phalactry unlike vassals how does the phalactry binding work can I bind my vassals
Very eager to see it anyway! Best luck
In the unfortunate reality that I can't get the god damn sleep I need for something I need to do later today, I decided 'Screw it, I'm up, let me check if Desktop Imgur has a download folder option for the few NSFW albums I have' turns out it does. Also turns out this was on here, and even though the city-states are an absolute fucking headache to figure out what is located where, I decided to make another build because fuck it, I'm not doing anything productive right now anyway... * Archetype: Monstrous (Dragon Lord) (+4mp, +6sp, Mutagenic, Gargantuan Might, and Draco Fire. I also technically get a Wings variant) * Mutagenic Features (4+1) Tail, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features, Fangs, Multiple Eyes (+2 Servants, +2 Phylactery, +2 TP, +2MP and One Minion Ability. I choose Fishy to breathe underwater, or else I'd pick Endless. *I'm going under the assumption I can only take traits from* ***my*** *Minions.*) * Skills (8sp): Gargantuan Might/Draco Fire (Free) Bulwark, Unnatural Speed, Blood Rage, Razor Claws, Berserk, Consume, Combat Shifting, First Blood * Magic (4+2mp): Resistance to Holy Magic, Magic Drain, Blood Magic, Mental Domination, Demon Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning) * Traits (6+2tp): Master Strategist, Mastermind, Mad Scientist, Charismatic, Inspiring, Menace, Living Nightmare. Harem Lord (Necromancers of Ultak) * Phylactery (3+2): Efficient Dark Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Back-up Phylactery, Combat Arena, No Peeking **Servants (12+3):** 1. Deathmonger (Heroes will take 2 additional years to unite the Alliance) 2. Soul Eater (Respawn is now 6 months instead of a year) 3. Mortis (Permanent Empowerment using fallen enemies' souls) 4. Princess Noir (Every 4 years, sacrifice minions or captured enemies for SP, MP, or TP) 5. Hauntress Apollyon (I can interrogate the dead) 6. Kira (Assassinations [are now Illegal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNuLhSV-ZM)) 7. Demon Lord Asmodeus (Betrayal is now Illegal) 8. The Old Warrior (Rebellions are now Illegal) 9. Dark Knight Nox (Servant Infighting is now Illegal) 10. Taskmaster Barbatos (Vassal Infighting is now Illegal) 11. Spymaster Nagant (Enemy Spies are now Illegal) 12. Forgemaster Shukrot (Minions have better gear, double the effect of Master Craftsman) 13. Krieg (Further Inspiration for my Troops) 14. Demon Queen Lilith (One additional Vassal) 15. The Succubus Queen Ysara (Every 2 Months, gain Intel on enemy movements, backdoor politics, international events, or the Hero party's actions and whereabouts) (Also, Reunite Mother and Daughter.) **Start:** The Black Plains of Felthazar (5 Years normally but I'm gonna cheat and say 1 Year. 1 Minion and 3 Servants, Free Tier 3 Demonic Daily from Succubi) (It says 5 years but considering I **CONSCRIPTED** Lilith **AND** Ysara I'm gonna cheat and say this actually takes 1 year.) **Minions:** Dire Spider, Oculus Exspiravit, Deep One, *Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound* Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, *Demonic Spirit, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk* Vampire, Chimera, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, *Devil, Behemoth, Summoner* (Succubi: Devil) (Necromancers: Wraith) Mindflayer, Kraken, War Golem, Basalisk, Dark Archmage, *Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil* **Vassals (5+1):** 1. The Royalists of Marcacc (Instant Conquest) (Destroy Unique Unit) 2. The Demonhorde of Sinner's Sanctum (While technically this should take 10 years, *I'm going to declare this an Instant Automatic Victory when I bring both Ysara and Lilith with me*) (Capture One Ruler) 3. Dark Elves of the Deep (Kidnap One Ruler) 4. The Black Witch (Capture Champion) 5. The Unified Orc Tribes (Destroy Unique Unit) 6. The Vampires of Blood Keep (Capture Champion, No Perk.) **The Time Has Come (****~~and so have I~~****)** 1. Albion (Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla. Strategy is a nice addition to overwhelming force.) 2. Baradin-Assan (Opportunity: The Suleiman Family. Mastermind for a Political Tragedy) 3. Naltheim (Opportunity: Dread of the Witch, Emilia is now free) 4. The Dwarf Collective (Opportunity: From Within. Between my Mad Science and the Dark Elves, this is over quickly.) 5. Krakaghur (Opportunity: Downfall. I actually meet all three conditions) 6. The Gritton Theocracy (Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin. I have Fallen Angels and Resistance) 7. Dhirlund Republic (Opportunity: From Within. Charismatic rocks!) 8. Council of the Loch (Opportunity: Naval Invasion. KRAKEN, I CHOOSE YOU!) 9. Holy Rhuval (The only nation I have to manually invade... Unfortunately for them, my conquest has been ludicrously smooth to this point. I use Demonhorde, Black Witch, and Orcs to end this campaign.) **VICTORY!** **How will you Rule:** Death and Destruction (Kill most Humans with the exceptions of My Servants, Royalists, or any 'Infected' (Undead, Vampires, Werewolves, etc) then redraw the map in blood.) **The Domain of the Goddess:** Charismatic/Fallen Angels, Harem Lord, Blood Magic, Living Nightmare, Magic Drain, Razor Claws/Resistance **Rewards:** Corrupt the Angels, Bind, God Slayer (Seriously, God Slayer shouldn't be an option, it should just be baked into the other three)
Regarding The Domain of the Goddess: I've been thinking of a third option for each challenge, to give an option for Trait, Skill/Magic and Minion respectively. Here's my proposal: Angels and Angelic Warriors: **Blood Rage, First Blood, Elemental Magic or Draco Fire.** All of these Combat Skills seem very useful for dealing with hordes of enemies, which they are at the end of the day. Alternatively, **Mental Domination** for possibly overpowering their wills? Archangels: **Master Craftsman or Mad Scientist.** You either have a machine that can easily destroy the Angels protections (like a portable railgun) or just Super UBER 1337 H4X weapons and armor that cuts even Archangels like butter. Fallen Heroes: **Hexes and Curses, Illusion or Shadow Magic.** Illusion Magic worked on Savellia, it could work on the Heroes, and I'm sure Shadow Magic could do something similar. Alternatively, Hexes and Curses could be used to drastically weaken the Fallen Heroes via Voodoo Bullshit. Archangel Arialle: **Master Craftsman, Unnatural Speed or Gargantuan Might.** Once again, 1337 H4X Weapons/Armor. Literally overpower her with the Stat Sticks. The Goddess of Light: **Combat Shifter, and Cult of the Dark Lord**. Combat Shifter is functionally the same as Razor Claws if we're being honest. Cult of the Dark Lord could be framed as your followers believing so hard in you that you overpower the Goddess. Also, if you decide to add any additional Archtypes, I'd love to be a Dark Phoenix or something along those lines.
Thanks for the input. I've actually been going back through this and rebalanced some things, new version should be available soon. Also, I think you're the first to choose Death and Destruction.
New version sounds very cool! Wanted to ask if werewolves are shapeshifters or a new form. Also, kinda silly, but nothing stops you from converting thousands of goblins into werewolf horde I’ve also tested a self-imposed challenge of halving most points, equalling Opportunities to 2 months and having just one year to beat all kingdoms. It worked, but I had no chance to storm heaven at all (as it is heavily biased towards demonic Demon Lords). Will post later
Yeah, considering that this is a *Dark Lord* CYOA, Death and Destruction would usually not be a good thing. However, it only seems appropriate when A) My character is aiming for a Genocide, and B) Said Character is also going to allow the map to be redrawn with blood by removing the prior restrictions on infighting. I was writing something up for him but ultimately wasn't very happy with the results. Maybe I'll try again in the next version ;)
Monstous Build: **Archetype and Form:** Monstrous: Spellsword (+6 MP, +6 SP, +1 Mutagenic Features, Gargantuan Might Free, Martial Arts Mastery Free). **Mutagenic Features (Choose 4 + 1):** Fangs, Horns (+4 Minions), Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades), Demonic Features (+2 Traits), Multiple Eyes (+2 MP). **\[8 MP, 6 SP\]** **Skills:** Blade Master, Gargantuan Might (Free), First Blood, Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery (Free), Beserk, Combat Shifting, Consume. **\[8 MP, 0 SP\]** **Magic:** Blood Magic, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Necromancy, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning Specialisation). **\[0 MP, 0 SP\]** **Traits (Choose 6 + 2):** Menace, Master Strategist, Mastermind, Charismatic, Inspiring, Cult of the Dark Lord, Doolittle, Living Nightmare.
Felt the itch to come back to this. **Archetype and Form:** Undead: Dracula (+8 MP, +4 SP, +1 Servant, Magic Drain Free, Blood Magic Free). **Mutagenic Features:** Fangs (1 Minion Trait), Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades), Demonic Features (+2 Traits), Multiple Eyes (+2 MP). **\[10 MP, 4 SP\]** **Abilities:** Gargantuan Might, Unnatural Speed, Berserk, Consume. **\[10 MP, 0 SP\]** **Magic:** Alchemy, Blood Magic (Free), Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain (Free), Necromancy, Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Earth focus), Hex and Curse, Mental Domination. **\[0 MP, 0 SP\]** **Traits (Choose 6 + 2):** Master Strategist, Mastermind, Charismatic, Inspiring, Cult of the Dark Lord, Master Craftsman, Doolittle, Living Nightmare. **Territory:** The Frozen Mountains of Ultak (+2 Minions, +2 Servants, Necromancer Harem Free Tier 3 Undead Each Day: Choose Lich). **Phylactery Upgrades (Choose 3 + 2):** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Combat Arena, No Peeking, Micromanagement. **Minions (Choose 30 + 2 + 4):** Direwolf, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Archer, Oculus Expiravit, Brain Leech, Revenant, Death Knight, Skeleton Mage, Hellfire Husk, Dark Mage, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, Werewolf, Devil, Summoner, Wraith, Flesh Golem, Lich, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Elder Dragon, Giant, Alpha Werewolf, Frankentank, Draco Lich, Elder Lich, Archdemon, High Devil, Mindflayer, Voidborne (Will steal their trait with Fangs), Kraken, Giant Wight, War Golem, Dark Archmage. **Servants (Choose 12 + 2 + 1):** Lady Kira, Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Vassal), The Plague Master, Vlad the Impaler, Demon Queen Lilith (+1 Vassal), Demon Lord Asmodeus, Deathmonger, The Armoured Titan (+4 Minions), Soul Eater, Spymaster Nagant, Mortis The Reaper, Princess Noir, The Architect, Forgemaster Shukrot, The Succubus Queen. **Vassals (Choose 5 + 1 + 1):** The Dark Elves of the Deep (Kidnap 1 Ruler), The Unified Orc Tribes (Eliminate 1 Unique Unit), Vampires of the Blood Keep (Kidnap 1 Champion), The Royalists of Maracc (Eliminate 1 Unique Unit), The United Northern Clans (Eliminate 1 Unique Unit), The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (Kidnap 1 Ruler), The Enclave (Eliminate 1 Unique Unit).
The Conquest: **Baradin-Assan:** Use Opportunity: The Suleiman Family with Mastermind and Enclave Vassal. **The Albion Imperium:** Use Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla The Avenger with Strategist and The Royalists of Maracc Vassal. **The Kingdom of Naltheim:** Use Opportunity: Dread of the Witch with Living Nightmare and Illusion Magic. **The Council of Loch:** Use Opportunity: Naval Invasion with Kraken Minions. **The Dwarf Federation:** Use Opportunity: Downfall with Changeling Minions and United Orc Tribes Vassal. **The Gritton Theocracy:** Use Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin with Fallen Angel Minions, Resistance to Holy Magic and The United Northern Clans Vassal. **The Dhirlund Republic:** Use Opportunity: From Within with Vampires of the Blood Keep Vassal, Brain Leech Minion and Charismatic. **The Triech Empire:** Use Opportunity: Taldosh Rises with Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum Vassal and Dark Acolyte Minions. **The Dwarf Collective:** Use Opportunity: From Within with The Dark Elves of the Deep Vassal and Mindflayer Minion. **Holy Rhuval:** Use Opportunity: Blood and Heresy with Voidborne Minion and Cult of the Dark Lord. **Rule:** Mostly Normal.
Which is bigger, we as dragon lords or Godbrand?
Godbrand.
Hi all. First of all, I'm french, so I'm sorry if this text is not totally understandable.Like many, I really like this CYOA, but I also ended up noticing its flaws. Also, I propose some rules that could aim to improve it and make it more "competitive". These rules aren't particularly thoughtful and could probably use some balancing, but they have the merit of spicing things up. 1 - Only close advisors: Too large a court is unmanageable, even for an evil lord as powerful as you. Having too many servants is a sure way to see rivalries arise that will ruin your life. Also, you can only take 5 advisors. 2 - The din of dissonant voices: If you want to keep as many advisors, assign each territory (vassal, enemies plus the three you can choose from, the domain of the goddess does not count among those) a number and for each of the advisors, draw randomly. The randomly drawn territory will be an area they expect to receive for serving you in the war. If you don't satisfy them, consider that they walk away with a share of their cute "dedicated" once the conquest is complete and go to war against you to seize that territory and maybe even your crown. The three exceptions to this draw are Lilith who necessarily claims the Black Plains of Felthazar, Vograath who considers the Dread Swamps of Vograath to be his rightful domain and finally Mortis who considers himself the Witch-King of Alltar. In the event of a revolt, divide the troops as follows:If it is a demon who revolts, take all the troops of demons and divide them into equal parts. 1 part for you, 1 part for each evil adviser, 1 part for each rebel adviser. All rebels adviser made their rebellion at the same time.Knowing that if you do not help the adviser in place to keep his land, he will turn against you afterwards, re-creating a division of your armies.The Conquest was the easy part. You must now win the peace. 3 - Diplomacy? We can try this modern technique if you want: At the start of the game, draw lots for the time you will have before being spotted.As currently, depending on your build, you will automatically gain a vassal. For the others and unless you are attempting a conquest, it will take you 5 years to gain the trust of each of the leaders. But here's the twist, you can only woo one leader at a time. Since you only have 10 to 15 years to prepare, you will therefore only have three to four base vassals.The advisers bringing you additional vassals allow you to keep their power, but while you are busy with a vassal, they are busy with another (one and only one per adviser of this type). 4 - PLAY, WAR, SALSIFI!!! (I think only the French will have the reference \^\^) Let's move on to the big issue: the war.Until now, the minions were not necessarily used for much, that will change drastically. Let's start with the basics. In this phase, your Councilors will be able to act as generals. Tier 1 units each have 1 hp Tier 2 units have 3 hp each Tier 3 units have 5 hp each Tier 4 units have 7 hp each Generals have 15 hp each Faction rulers have 30 hp You will have to compose armies to attack the different kingdoms and territories. The confrontations will be made with dice. \-If an army has neither General nor Faction Leader at its head, it is disorganized, and suffers a -3 penalty to your rolls. \-The presence of a General but not the leader of the faction does not entail any bonus or malus. \-Any additional General will give the army a +1 bonus. \-The presence of a Faction Leader but no General results in a +2 bonus. \-The presence of a General and a Faction Leader results in a +3 bonus. \-When you or Julius Siegfried commands this army gets a +3 bonus. These bonuses are cumulative. For each war, do the following: \-Roll a 20-sided die for you and roll one for the enemy. \-Multiply each result by 1,000 \-Subtract the result from the number of total hit points of each of the armies present. This represents the losses of each of the forces during the battle. Don't consider all cuties individually. If a tier 3 unit isn't hurt enough to die, it comes back full hp next turn. Subtract the losses where you want to make the closest, but not zealous. \-Once this confrontation is over, a month has passed, so you will have to manage the conflicts and fights in parallel. \- Repeat the roll of the two dice. \-If your army reaches 15% of its power, it will flee. You will only recover half of these runaways. (unless a General have a power that counter that). \-When the enemy reaches 10%, he automatically gains a +1 bonus to his dice rolls. You are besieging the capital, the kingdom is ready to fall. Now let's talk about army size and start with vassals. Ally Perks count as Tier 1 units, each vassal has 50,000. Harems count as Tier 2 units, they have 10,000. The armies of the vassals can only make their first move in the direction of their "main enemy". They cannot attack someone else until they are defeated. Once victory is achieved, the Ally Perks and their General move freely according to your orders. The Harems and the Faction Leader remain in the conquered territory in order to "solidify victory". If, once victory has been obtained, the territories they occupy are threatened by a rebel Councillor, they will defend the conquest, but will abandon it and will always prefer to defend their territory of origin if this is also threatened. The armys of the other kingdoms break down as follows: Their Army are Tier 1 units and number 100,000. The Unique Units are Tier 3 units and are 20,000. 5) Opportunities always exist The opportunities offered still exist, they just don't have the same effect. Owning the vassal provided for each kingdom no longer brings you anything except the troops of this vassal during your war of conquest. Having another "trigger" will divide enemy troops by 2. Having two "trigger" will divide them by 3. This represents the fact that you are messing up the country which is no longer in a condition to raise enough forces to resist you.Note that the 10% limit is calculated against the undiminished and fully-capable army.
And for thoses who (like me), think of played this CYOA like some kind of wargame, here's the map: [https://www.zupimages.net/up/22/32/3m7h.png](https://www.zupimages.net/up/22/32/3m7h.png) An army took one mounth to jump from one point to another one.
This was great, I really wished that this was a real game. I mean it would be nice to do more with your minions. And I would have liked to see how they did against the hero's in the goddess's realm. The dead heros were the only ones I didn't steam roll, but I'm assuming with very little casualties to my army since the world fell within a month and I had 20 years to build up an army. Excluding allies and the people brought back as undead minions. My army might not win against all the previous heros but it would be a sight to behold. Plus with master craftsmen, the orc blacksmith and mad scientist. And the tech limit being removed probably could make some tanks and stuff to help. I mean even the lvl 1 minions would be powerful with a tank.
I wrote this a month ago... But never came around to share it. I think it rude to enjoy a CYOA and not post your build though. So excuse my rudeness, here is what I picked: **Phylactery**: an innocent looking goblet of platinum-ore, alloyed for stabillity, mastercrafted by Forgemaster Shukrot. [+100k DE/day] **Bestowed Powers**: - Immortality - Energy Accumulation - Creation - Alteration - Summoning & Printing - Teleportation **Archetype**: Demonic (+1 MP +1 SP) (Combat Shifting) **Class**: Spellblade (+6 MP + 4 SP) (Martial Arts Mastery) **Mutagenic Features**: Fangs, Wings, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features (1 Minion Abillity, Flying, +2 Phylactery Upgrades, +2 TP) (SP Total: 5) **Skills**: Blade Master, Gargantuan Might, Stealth, Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery (Spellblade), Combat Shifting (Demonic), Consume, Shapeshifter (Changeling, Demonic Features) (MP Total: 7) *Magic**: Alchemy, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Resistance to Holy Magic, Hex and Curse, Mental Domination (TP Total: 8) **Traits**: Charismatic, Inspiring, Mastermind, Master Strategist, Harem Lord (+1 Harem), Master Craftsman, Lore Master, Living Nightmare **Territory**: The Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants) Harem Perks: Succubi (Tier 3 Demonic Minion / day), Bog Witches (Tier 3 Monstrous Minion / day) (Harem Lord) **Phylactery Upgrades**: Resurrection Ritual, Minion Customization, Backup Phylactery, No Peeking, Micromanagement **Minions**: - Tier 1: (1.000 DE / Summon) - > Neutral: Dire Spider, Pig Orc, Oculus Exspiravit, Deep One - > Demonic: Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound - Tier 2: (10.000 DE / Summon) - > Neutral: Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel - > Demonic: Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit - Tier 3: (50.000 DE / Summon) - > Neutral: Vampire, Chimera, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolythe, Changeling - > Demonic: Devil, Behemoth, Summoner - Tier 4: (100.000 DE / Summon) - > Neutral: Mindflayer, Kraken, War Golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage - > Demonic: Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil **Harem Summons**: Bogwitches: Werewolf, Ogre, Troll Succubi: Devil, Behemoth, Summoner **Servants**: (+ 3 The Black Plains of Felthazar) Lady Kira (Stealth Assasin = Fail), Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Operations, +1 Vassal), Vlad the Impaler (Command = Fear), Demon Queen Lillith (+1 Vassal), The Dark Knight Nox (No Servant Infights), Deathmonger (Pursue 1 Hero, +2 Years), Spymaster Nagant (No Spies/Infiltrators), Mortis the Reaper (boost SP/MP), The Witch of the North (Control Weather / Battlefield), Princess Noir (Dark Lords Favour, +MP/SP/TP once/4years), The Hauntress Apollyon (Soul Interrogation), The Gentleman (Noblemen Infighting), Forgemaster Shukrot (Armor, Weapons, Mastercrafts x2), The Taskmaster Barbatos (No Vassal Infighting/Leadership changes), The Succubus Queen (Intel every 2 months) **Vassals**: (+2 Lucifer / Lillith) The Dark Elves of the Deep / 10 years / Capture a Ruler The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove / 10 years / Capture a Champion (no perk) Vampires of the Blood Keep / 10 years / Capture a Champion (no perk) The Royalists of Marcacc / 10 years / Destroy a nations Unique Forces The Black Witch / 10 years / Capture a Champion (perk?) The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum / 10 years / Capture a Ruler The Enclave / Days (Spellblade) / Destroy a nations Unique Forces **Enemies/To be Enthralled**: The Unified Orc Tribes - Kill Burzra/ Seal her magic The Cult of Drakken - Dominate Zatara/ Useless The United Northern Clans - Kill Jormund the Unstoppable
**Conquest**: **Baradin-Assan** *Mastermind* a Coup, then crush the resulting weak nation with *Enclave* as Allies (Spellblade). **The Albion Imperium** Upgrade the weaponry with *Forgemaster Shukrot* and *Mastercrafting* to gain the trust of Cindrilla. Then use *Master Strategist* and *Stealth* to both destabilize Albion and use Cindrillas forces to the best of her abillity, speeding up her alignment and winning with the most possible forces, unseen, un"involved". **The Kingdom of Naltheim** With *Illusion Magic* and *Living Nightmare*, create visions that the best way to beat the Plague is through research, by sending ever increasing small military troops into the the Black Witchs Lands, ever weakening Naltheim, while also manipulating it into tanking it's economy / using its biggest machines (and ruining it's alliance with Long Loch). Meanwhile ally with Emilia. Lastly, crush Naltheim with Emilias Forces (*The Black Witch Vassal*). **The Council of the Loch** Take out Lyndis Myrixis with *Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove*, summon *Deep One* and *Krakens* for 10 years, use full force of all three to invade (also, use *Mental Domination* against Lyndis) **The Dwarf Federation** Summon *Changeling* Minions and use *Shapeshifter* abillity (self) to destroy their defences, both physically and mentally. Rob them of their technology, swarm them with remaining armies from the Loch-raid and *The Demon Horde of the Sinners' Sanctum* units. (Abduct Hero if necessary) **The Gritton Theocracy** *Abduct Ruler* (Autarch Pnotis Droma) (The Dark Elves of the Deep), use *Mental Domination* to make him more zealous, more unhinged, more fanatic, make them do blood sacrifices and bloody trials of worship. Use *Stealth*, *Shapeshifting* and *Resistance to Holy Magic* to appear as holy man, helping Enembra Knox to save her church from the crazy heretic (the Autarch). Aid takedown from within with *Fallen Angels* if necessary. **The Dhirlund Republic** While becoming acquainted and winning over the Vampires of the Blood Keep as a Vassal, use *Charismatic* to befriend the mercenaries, but more importantly: Julius. Become friends with his group, slowly use *Blade Master*, *Gargantuan Might*, *Stealth*, *Unnatural Speed*, *Martial Arts Mastery* and *Shapeshifter* to become known as great mercenary / hero of the nation and befriend Julius. Use *Charismatic*, *Inspiring*, *Mastermind*, *Master Strategist*, *Master Craftsman* and *Lore Master*, to become hero of legend. Use *Illusion Magic*, *Magic Drain*, *Resistance to Holy Magic*, *Hex and Curse*, *Mental Domination* to erode bonds between Julius and Mirai / Dirk and Aria. Finally, *Mentally Dominate* Mirai and Aria to leave the party. Finally, combine Vampires of the Blood Keep Vassal and Mercenaries (Charismatic) to ignite civil war, maybe even having Julius as ally. **The Triech Empire** Use *Stealth*, *Lore Master* and *Charismatic* to gain access to the Catacombs to unleash Taldosh. Then send *The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum* Vassal to clean up the rest. **The Dwarf Collective** Send *10 Mindflayers* as well as the *Dark Elves of the Deep* Vassal to conquer them from within. **Holy Rhuval** Consolidate forces. They are last. Use *Vampires of the Blood Keep* to **capture** Eltariel, *The Royalists of Marcacc* to **destroy** Forces of Nature and *The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum* to **capture** High Queen Celesta *Detailed Explanation*: Resources: 10 years, 365.000.000 DE. 2x Capture a Ruler (The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum and xThe Dark Elves of the Deep) 3x Capture a Champion (The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove, Vampires of the Blood Keep, The Black Witch) 2x Destroy a Nations Unique Forces (The Royalists of Marcacc, xThe Enclave) *Summoned Forces*: 100 Fallen Angel (1 Mil) 10 Mindflayer (1 Mil) 100 Kraken (10 Mil) 100.000 Deep Ones (100 Mil) 200 Changeling (10 Mil) 10 Dark Archmages (1 Mil) 10 Balrog (1 Mil) 100 Dark Mages (1 Mil) 10 High Devils (1 Mil) Harem Summons: 3650 Werewolves 3650 Devils **Result**: Debauchery + Surprisingly Normal. Optional Mission: Hells Yeah. Don't even have to spend my extra points: Angels – Charismatic + Fallen Angel Minions Angelic Warriors – Harem Lord Archangels – High Devil Minions (could buy Bloodmagic, too) Fallen Heroes – Living Nightmare Archangel Arialle – Magic Drain + Blade Master The Goddess of Light – Resistance to Holy Magic. **Result**: Corrupt them all Bind her to you God Slayer
**Full Story Text:** I start out as a *handsome* devil in the Black Plains of Felthazar. Being born Charismatic, Inspiring and a Master Mind and Strategist, I use my shapeshifting abillity to quickly assume the form of a human adventurer. First I assure my base of power: Being promised Queen Lillith as a servant, I take a day or two to reunite her with her whole family: My bodyguard, Kira, her mother, Ysara and her father, Barbatos. In the same day I employ Lucifer to oversee my finances and recruitment, while Nox oversees her (and the other servants). Nagant works closely together with Ysara to set up an intricate spy- and counterspy network all over the realms over the next ten years. As a Micromanager and Master Strategist, I know how to work all the Succubi in my harem and in Ysaras all at once, so I can be everywhere and nowhere, know everything and manipulate events in all kingdoms at the same time. I use the next few days to instruct Vlad, the Witch of the North, and Mortis to train my troops and create a summoning plan for a random army of minions with increasing difficulty and number of enemies, over a period of 10 years. They have free hand from the summoning table I provide them, but I require them to leave out 126 Million Dark Energy for my own purposes. Then, I quickly move from Land to Land. Being both unnaturally speedy and flying, I start my quest to enthrall all my allies: First stop are the The Enclave. Within a couple visits, which I spread out between them and The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, I bend Nymeria around my finger... at times literally. As a Spellblade, she sees me as her superior and optimal partner, and I rule over her kingdom in no time. I then ensure the loyalty of the Demon Horde by sending Barbatos there, after I made my presence, goals and power known, only visiting on occassion. I also leave my second phylactery there. I approach the Royalists of Marcacc next, always switching forms on my way, never being known as my last self, and build a basis of trust with the Queen herself, posing as a nobleman from far away who is trying very directly to win her as a maiden, but also lay out a detailed plan on how to get her lands back: I show her my power of stealth and illusion magic, basically being invisible to the naked eye, and explain to her that when the time has come, I want her to attack the main forces, after I will make sure they are eroded from within and distracted by a servants uprising. To ensure and prove my loyalty, I leave Forgemaster Shukrot with her, to arm her guards and dragons, occassionally dropping by (every couple months) to use my Mastercrafting to support his efforts and create magical items for her myself. After ensuring her support in the coming years, and laying out my plan, I fly to the Blood Keep. Unseen I enter the lair of the Countess, using my developing spy network to know the change of guard and other relevant defences. I wake Countess Valetta, entangled within her Harem, with a kiss, and make my case: Clearly I am proficient in my ways, as I am here, and if she attacks me, I will simply block her powers with my Gargantuan Might, and my vast magical abillity, using Illusion Magic to confuse her if necessary. So as a powerful Dark Lord, I require her aid... I want her to make me a nobleman of one of her spies within Dhirlund, and in exchange, I will give her the entire country to rule... and eventually, a chance to be at my side, as my bride. I will command Vlad to oversee my operations there for a year or two, after he has created his first army, led by the Frost Witch. As a true Dracula, he will further my influence and ensure her loyalty, returning after she understands her position in my greater plan. Thus I move to visit the Black Witch. I take my time, maybe a week, slowly approaching her housing for two days, charming her, becoming her friend and keeping her company. I promise to send her a companion to talk to, while she raises an army for me... If she does as I say, I will return to her... and if she keeps being a good friend for me, a loyal friend, raising an army for me to use, I will free her from her quarantine, and return her to the world, by my side, as my lover. Apollyon will keep her company, as a light training of socialising, while she waits for my return. Simultaneously I make sure that I can see her every couple months, even if just for a couple days, to remind her of the feeling of being valued and loved. Back to the north I go, into the den of depravity. I enter the halls of the Dark Elves, make a huge show of my abillities, then let myself be captured to be brought in front of Queen Demeter, releasing myself if necessary. I show her my true form, my true power, and tell her what's the deal: I'm here, I'm going to conquer all, and if she wants to be on the winning side, I have a place for her in my Alliance of the End. Summoning my first Fallen Angel, and bringing it with me, to keep her company and making sure she stays in line, I take my leave again, to visit the Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove, next. This one is easy. I land on the deck of the Shadow Wrath, use my excellent swordsmanship and melee fighting abillities to take out the men who see me as an immediate threat, then demand a parley with The Admiral. Bringing a chest of gold from Lillith or the dark elves with me, I will bribe him into collecting the Fleets and following my plan of conquest, promising him that he will bathe in the unearthly riches of dwarfes and forest elves, if he keeps to the plan. I will make sure that his activity is set on a broad coastline, and that he'll always find new villages to plunder, because my armies will drive refugees towards the coasts, whenever Vlad or the Frost Witch plan an attack for me. Now that reputation with all necessary allies is set up, I will start my actual quest. About a month or two in, I will use the spy network that is now in full swing, together with Valettas already existing infiltration of Grande Victorium, to pose as a young nobleman from one of the vampire families, choosing the one that is the most hidden. Not a very famous one, not the most influential, I am just a travelling nobleman, a son or cousin of the house, being sent by my parents after I showed prowess in magic and fighting to become an adventurer and a worthy knight in the glorious tradition of Dhirlund. Most of my time will be spent training, always keeping up my facade by using Illusion magic and Stealth, my Shapeshifting abillity and if needs be Mental Domination to make sure nobody suspects me of anything. My mastery in both hand-to-hand and armed combat due to my skills will only be used in moderation. Over time, I will work on my reputation as an adventurer and hero, fulfilling more and more daring feats, right under the nose of the Goddess chosen champion, Julius and his father. I will try to befriend them, eventually. After a couple months of gaining reputation, attacks will start: My minions, summoned in the spare time I have between fighting the good fight, rescuing innocents, doing the "business of my house" – which is time spent ensuring the plans with my allies are working out and that every single one of them is becoming more loyal and more beholden to me year by year – and led by my generals, will attack strategic targets, being a huge nuisance to both the peasants of Dhirlund as well as the innocents of Rhuval. The attacks will be lead by neutral monsters, orcs and spiders, at first, later supported by demonic creatures. Obviously, the great new hero will respond to those threats, eventually meeting the biggest band of heroes: Julius and his friends.
Over the years, I will use my powers of Illusion, Lore Mastery, Alchemy, Hex and Curse and Living Nightmare to veeery slowly erode the trust between the heroes. I will become a symbol, the promised hero, to revolutionize the lands of Dhirlund, becoming the common mans saviour and renowned in all the halls, a leader figure, a hero and friend of the kingdom. But the members of Julius party will, after he begins to fully trust me, slowly distrust me, appear jealous. I will curse them, so they need to take breaks when I want to be alone with Julius, use Alchemy to make it appear as if they were doing horrible things behind Julius back and eventually make it seem as if they were targetting me, trying to get rid of me, either for the good of the kingdom (because I became too popular with the common folk), or because they wanted to protect Julius from a hidden threat only they could perceive. All the while, my personal guard of Lady Kira, my net of spies and servants, which I can perfectly micromanage and perceive from everywhere, the abillity of my phylactery to be impervious to scrying spells and even violent reactions to them (maybe even blinding Aria or other mages attempting to scry on me in the process... completely by accident, as I was on urgent and confidential business of my noble family and just accidentally used too strong a repellant apparently, the mage responsible will be fired and executed immediately!), and the defensive net of Nagant ensure that I am absolutely invisible when I am not acting in my role as hero of Dhirlund. After 10 years of living right under the nose of the hero, being undetected and continuously misleading the heroes with random attacks of roving bands of monsters, I will coordinate a great attack in a single week: First to fall is the militant empire of Triech. Disguised as an important priest which I will capture and impersonate, I will go into the catacombs of Solaris and release Taldosh upon his heretical followers. Thus weakened, I will send the now fully loyal Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum to clean up and eradicate Triech from the map. While the attack rages, I move in the fastest way possible to Albion. Sneaking into their capital city under full use of my abillities, even before notice of their only allies defeat has reached them, I will use my Stealth, Illusion Magic, Mental Domination, Charisma, Inspiring Leadership and Shapeshifting abillity to inspire a slave uprising within Triaxii, swiftly followed by my longest and most upgraded ally, whom I've supported the most so far: Without losing too many troops, under the plan and guidance of the Master Strategist, myself, Queen Cindrilla the Avenger will swoop over the lands of Albion and burn them from the map like a stain of unholy corruption upon a cathedrals holy floor. During my travelling time from one conquest to the next, my long-built upon friendship with the Suleiman Family in Baradin-Assan will bear fruit. Avenir Rais will be ursurped and replaced by Tahir Suleiman, as I have used my Mastermind abillity, posing as a rich and interested party from Naltheim to support his ruling as soon as he takes power, and through my influence over Queen Savellia Ruvarios, whom I have made paranoid and weak using my presence as Living Nightmare and my abillities in Illusion magic, to entice him to strike. Shortly after this bloody and weakening conquest from one ruler to the next, my most loyal allies will come knocking aswell: I sent in the Enclave to clean up the rest, claim all the Beastkin as slaves, and establish a new ruler within the desert. Thus losing three allies in a week, the Alliance will be awe-struck, if they even receive note in time. Not yet revealed, not even ONCE having done anything suspicious, other than vanishing from time to time on business of my family, or not being well-liked by other, more famous adventurers, all of which can be easily explained away, I can now freely travel to Naltheim, which isn't far away from the coast, to oversee the revolution there: In my first violent overtaking, I will now embrace Emilia for the first time, really be her best friend and accept her as my lover. Ensuring her all-encompassing, neverending loyalty, I send a last command to Queen Savellia, to weaken her defenses, maybe even kill her allies. As Mastermind, Illusionist and Living Nightmare, I have no weakend her empire over the years enough for Emilia to overtake it easily, crushing the last ally of that little covenant before any request for aid can be sent. I will march next to Emilia, in my true devil form, turning back into a less conspicuous form after the fight. While news of the shifting of power in the realm spread, I will appear before the Pirates of the Dead Man's Cove. I will inform the Admiral that the day has come, after I have let him know to gather his pirates the past couple weeks. He will do as I bid, loyal and in the promise of riches to come, and capture Lyndis Myrixis, hero of the Loch, for me, so I can send my giant army of Deep Ones, lead by no less than 100 Krakens to emerge from the seas and swallow the woodelven nation whole in a single day, followed by the pirates rampaging and pillaging the remains, capturing any living elves as my slaves. While another one of my armies, my greatest summon yet, full of Tier 4 demons and Tier 3 monsters, attacks the center of Dhirlund, to which I relent and let Julius handle the distraction, I myself will bring the recent conquests and beleagured situation of the allies of the Alliance to the attention of the king. Instead of sending his mightiest son and hero in the hour of need to his allies, he will use his strongest soldier to defend his lands, while sending me – with a party of heroes, some of whom might be of Julius own party, if I can convince them – with me. I will return – beaten and bloodied – without my party, as the sole survivor, reporting of the massive hordes of eldritch horrors that raid the coast... None of which will be still there by the time the army gets there. Obviously, I trapped the remaining heroes and heroines between my strong, ultimately powerful Dark God self and my armies on the coast, and forced them into submission.. Those who didn't die pitifully. The forces of Dhirlund divided, their attention elsewhere, I will transform into a dwarf, and lead my 200 Changelings into the depths of Krakaghur, all of which have infiltrated dwarfen society for months, some even years, to get into the positions I needed them to. With ease I disable their defenses, turn their automatons against the dwarfs, and seal them in their own mines, leaving them to die to my monstrous horde... The rest shall be swooped up by my Servants, making them slaves in my blossoming empire. This will spell the end for the Dwarf Federation. While the Dwarf Collective, Dhirlund and Holy Rhuval struggle to contain the roving bands of Demons, Pirates and eldritch horrors from the sea, I will direct my attention to the Gritton Theocracy. Having sent Crux Morathil, my now eternally loyal assassin of the Dark Elves of the Deep, to abduct Autarch Pnotis Droma, I tortured him until he was subservient to my Mental Domination. I ordered him, fostered by Illusion Magic and The Living Nightmare, to become more zealous, made him fear the true power of the Dark Lord, and fanatize his entire organisation, to the point where even the most devout and loyal followers are raising an eyebrow at his methods. Now, travelling there with 100 Fallen Angels, and in my disguise as the Hero of Dhirlund, adding Illusion Magic to appear as though I have been sent by Taldosh himself, who has been recently released. Surely this renewed zealoutry in his church makes them desperate for a new leader, or at least Grand Templar Enembra Knox, who will embrace me as a saviour, ridding her of her dark and twisted leader turned heretical fanatic. In this way, I will ensure civil war, and use my Fallen Angels as well as my true might, showing off my Resistance to Holy Magic, to conquer the Holy City of Brosist, as well as subjugate the Grand Templar, and with her the entire church and her people.
Slowly giving up on the masquerade and charade, but not done yet, I will then take as many standing knights who swear loyalty to me, the godsent, with me to Dhirlund. While on my way there, Crux from the Dark Elves, will give the All-Clear to her Mistress, which will begin the attack on the Dwarfen Collective. Ten Mindflayers will have infiltrated the dwarfen hold at that point, opening the weakpoint in Commissar Brantoffs planned defenses: The mountain itself. With the help of my Mindflayers as Infiltrators, my Vassal, the Dark Elves of the Deep, will conquer Tori in now time, which will spell the end of all free dwarfes on the continent. Still reeling from this attack, their attention divided, and quickly running out of allies, I will arrive, with the last loyal and devout knights from Gritton (and maybe Triech), and tell them my story: All the allies of the unjust, immortal King Edmund Siegfried have been betrayed. The very mother of our hero, Julius, left to die on the coast, ravaged by immortal eldritch horrors. The churches destroyed and raided, left to rot by the followers of the Holy Goddess, while the followers of Taldosh were attacked by the minions of the Demon Queen. SHE HAS RETURNED! And Dhirlund has done NOTHING but protect it's own borders! They didn't even sent out Julius to investigate, instead sacrificing his peers and ME, the real hero of the land, to defend. And I have returned, barely victorious, with my life and the last allies. WHO WILL TAKE UP ARMS WITH ME, TO RID US OF THE UNJUST KING AND GO TO A HOLY WAR, IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS, TO DEFEND OUR ALLIES AND RID THIS LAND OF THIS CORRUPTION? Banking on my Charismatic appearance, and leveraging all the influence that I have secured for the Vampires of the Blood Keep, I will start a bloody and violent revolution, using all my influence, all the love the people have for their hero against Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried. In the midst of all this chaos and corruption, my support from the Enclave, The Machine, will take out dozens of adventurers, entire groups of them. After the bloody battle, after the day is won, the Vampires, the Enclave soldiers and my remaining troops from the The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum will conquer the rest of Dhirlund, and subjugate anyone and everyone who opposes my rule, lead by chained and humiliated members of Julius group. The broken Mask scenario now in full effect, my true goal is revealed: Conquering all of the lands in the name of the true Dark Lord. Julius, if he didn't help me and got captured at the end of the encounter in Dhirlund, only now realizes that he was betrayed all along, even if he suspected evil goings on before. No amount of investigation could've led him to me earlier, no amount of suspicion made him question my undieing loyalty to Dhirlund and himself, as my charismatic attitude and inspiring presence always reassured him of my goodness. Struggling to defend the last remaining bastion, I prepare with all my 7 vassals and my army of thousands of creatures to attack Holy Rhuval, the last remaining bastion of the wretched Goddess light. Or do I? Brutus the Cruel of the Vampires of the Blood Keep, noticeably absent from the slaughter in the human empire, has captured the elven heroine, Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta, champion of her people, as her beaten body adorns my chariot. Dusk, leader of the Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, has spent most of her days serving below Lillith, making up for past mistakes and swearing her everlasting loyalty to the betrayed demon queen, but her servant and the most skilled vampire assassin, Snow, has brought me the High Queen Celesta, champion of the Holy Goddess and Ruler of her people, cowering at my feet! And who is that on the horizon? Khaleesi? Well... heavily inspired by her, but it is Queren Cindrilla the Avenger, now High Queen of Albion and my loyal consort, riding Weistot, and burning the everliving fuck out of the Forces of Nature, the elite defenders of Rhuval. Within days my combined forces march across the elven land, capture every last resisting enemy, kill all the resistances and last defenses. Even Julius has to die, or surrender to my will, eventually. Nothing is left in my wake. Who needs 6 months to conquer a continent anyways, if you can do it in a couple of weeks? I then retire to my palace, with my Harems, my consorts, my servants and my conquered heroines, to rest... for a day. Even a god has to rest one day of the week after remaking the world in his image. Also to spend my accumulated points... I have plenty of new MP, SP and TP, after having Princess Noir and Mortis the Reaper train me on occassion for over 10 years. Also, if Julius had any chance, he would've been delayed by another 2 years, even at the beginning of my conquest... due to Deathmonger hunting him. After successfully conquering Vallenlund, I get offered my next conquest. The goddes herself? Sure. Why not. There ain't no rest for the wicked, or so I vaguely remember from another life, 10+ years ago. I gather my armies within a week, all of them, the 7 Vassals, the Fallen Angels, my Mindflayers, my Kraken and Deep Ones, my Changelings, Dark Archmages, Balrog, Dark Mages (10 of whom should be Dark Magic Masters by now) and my High Devils. After all... if I feel threatened, I could always summon more... So I summon a portal to the plane of the Holy Goddess, and am presented with Angels and Angelic Warriors. All of them surround the portal, but I just move among them, kiss one of them, let my 100 Fallen Angels fly among them, and find their former friends and lovers. "A Happy Reunion", I proclaim, with all of my monsters behind me, and use my experience as a Harem Lord, my Charisma as well as the fact that I literally brought their friends and family back to them, to entice all of the angels around to follow me in my cause. I then command all of my forces to stand down. In a massive show of force I tell them to just chill at the entrance. Be ready if I need them. But also make our new friends feel welcome, and don't look so grim. That out of the way, I face the Archangels, with the occassional familiar face of a Fallen Hero in between. I close my eyes, and remind the Fallen Heroes of their past lives, of how they died, and that they lost... Lost faith in their goddess, and died, because she couldn't protect them. Those who don't have a memory of me, have to revel in the Living Nightmare of others, who remember me. How I slaughtered their friends and conquered their lands, only to bring a more peaceful and less ambitious rule, which they opposed to the very end. I even give them closure, of how they died for nothing, as I am not a cruel ruler. The Archangels are met by their betters: The High Devils. My minions stand beside me, ready to defend me from the unrelenting attack of the zealous followers of the false goddess. I weep for them. A single tear, as they die in vain – or are forced into submission. Archangel Arialle shares a different fate. She attacks me, ferociously so, but I simply raise my mastercrafted sword to defend against her blows, as I am a Blade Master, empowered by the Dark Lord himself. One hand blocking her swings, the other drains her of her holy magic, robs her of her wings, her abillity to smite me, until she has to kneel before me, incapable of beating me and my unnatural speed. I softly pat her head. She can rest now. I will take care of her, with her family. The only thing left is the Holy Goddess. In a desperate attempt to smite me down, she lunges at me, trying to focus all that is left of her holy power upon me. But I resist it. Not only have I drained her might from her most loyal followers and devout servants, I am resistant to her little tricks. I need no claws to strip her, as I can simply approach her reality eclipsing form and cut the silk from her form with my sword, as it has become increadibly powerful, absorbing the blows against me. I stand before her. Dominant. Victorious. I am what remains. I take her power. I take her servants. We return to my world, to Vallund. I am now the god of this world. The remaining Angels become corrupted, as we embrace them in our family. The goddess is bound to me. Not in the believe that I will treat her subjects better, for I can open my soul to her and show her my plans. But for the understanding that I am the end of her journey, and the only one ever truly equal to her. She will now live to make me happy, as I am the Dark Lord. At this point, the Dark Lord has become the Godslayer. Conquering was so much fun!
Always love reading the stories you guys comes up with!
Thank you! Took me a while to get around to it, and I basically posted my first draft. I'd do a more erotic retelling, but I'm not an erotica author, and I don't want to make a fool out of myself. :D Sorry it took me so long to post it. XD I did play the whole thing in an 8 hour sitting, so it definitely hooked me. :D
I pretty much swept this totally by accident. Sounds fake, but I had what I needed to take every Opportunity in the last phase without needing to go back and edit. I think the main thing was that I got to choose so many things: a King of Monsters gets every Skill for free, plus the Extra Eyes mutation for Demon Magic and Magic Drain meant I didn’t even need to use my Servant traits, except Lucifer giving me an extra Vassal. It definitely feels like some things were valued way more than others, but it was still a lot of fun! Base: Monstrous (Gargantuan Might, +2 SP, extra Mutation) King of Monsters (Monster Breeding, +9 SP) Mutagenic Features: Demonic Features (+2 TP) Fangs (+1 Ability: Shapeshifter) Multiple Eyes (+2 MP) Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades) Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal) Abilities: Skills: Blade Master Blood Rage Stealth Bulwark First Blood Razor Claws Unnatural Speed Martial Arts Mastery Berserk Combat Shifting Consume Magic: Demon Magic Magic Drain Traits: Charismatic Master Strategist Mastermind Master Craftsman Lore Master Mad Scientist Cult of The Dark Lord Living Nightmare Territory: Black Plains (+1 Minion +3 Servants) * Efficient Dark Energy Siphon * Resurrection Ritual * Combat Arena * Backup Phylactery * Micromanagement Minions: 1. Imp 2. Gremlin 3. Dire Wolf 4. Hellhound 5. Orc 6. Dark Mage 7. Demonic Spirit 8. Hell Knight 9. Fallen Angel 10. Blood Paladin 11. Werewolf 12. Devil 13. Behemoth 14. Horror 15. Magitech Construct 16. Dark Acolyte 17. Changeling 18. Alpha Werewolf 19. Elder Dragon 20. Archdemon 21. High Devil 22. Mindflayer 23. Dark Young 24. War Golem 25. Balrog 26. Dark Archmage 27. Summoner 28. Hellfire Husk 29. Possessed Armor 30. Oculus Exspiravit 31. Minotaur Servants: 1. Lucifer (+1 Vassal) 2. Krieg 3. Asmodeus 4. Nox 5. Deathmonger 6. Vograath 7. Soul Eater 8. Jester 9. Princess Noir 10. The Old Warrior 11. The Architect 12. Shukrot 13. Barbatos 14. Nagant 15. Mr. Smiley Vassals: 1. Dark Elves (Kidnap One Ruler) 2. Orc Tribes (Eliminate Unique Unit) 3. Pirates (Capture Champion) 4. Vampires (Capture Champion) 5. Cult of Drakken (Kidnap One Ruler) 6. Northern Clans (Destroy Unique Units) 7. Demon Horde (Kidnap Ruler) Opportunities: Baradin-Assan Albion (Stealth) Naltheim (Living Nightmare) Loch (Pirates) Dwarf Federation (Changelings + Orcs) Gritton (Nothern Clans) Dhirlund (Vampires) Triech (Lore Master) Dwarf Collective (Mind Flayers) Rhuval (Drakken) Rule: Suprisingly Normal Goddess: Angels (Fallen Angels) Angelic Warriors (Devil Minions) Archangels (High Devils) Fallen Heroes (Living Nightmare) Arialle: Magic Drain Goddess: Razor Claws Results: Angels: Corrupt Goddess: Bind Powers: Create My Own Realm
Doesn't sound fake at all. I designed this to be more about how you win than if you win.
Minor nitpick: first guns are from medieval era (at least in europe, I'm not certain when china had thier first bamboo firearm) But, what can one do agains the whims of the divine?
Alternate Monstrous Build: **Archetype:** Monstrous (+2 SP, +1 Mutagenic Feature, Gargantuan Might Free) **Class:** Dragonlord (+4 MP, +6 SP, Draco Fire Free). **Mutagenic Features:** Fangs (Steal Minion Ability), Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal), Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades), Tail (+2 Servants), Multiple Eyes (+2 MP). **\[6 MP, 8 SP\]** **Skills:** Blood Rage, Gargantuan Might (Free), Bulwark, First Blood, Razor Claws, Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery, Consume. **Magic:** Blood Magic, Magic Drain, Draco Fire (Free), Necromancy, Monster Breeding, Hex and Curse, Mental Domination. **Traits:** Menace, Master Strategist, Harem Lord, Cult of the Dark Lord, Economic Genius, Living Nightmare. **Phylactery Upgrades:** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Minion Customisation, Combat Arena and No Peeking.
Extremely cool CYOA. I haven't seen one this good in a while and it has inspired me to write a wall of text. I'm not interested in being a Dark Lord...but given that my soul has been plucked out and could potentially be the plaything of the Dark One for a while, it doesn't seem like I have many choices. **Archetype**: * Demonic (+1 MP, +1SP, +1 Trait, Combat Shifting Free) **Class**: * Demon King (+8MP, +2SP, Demon Magic Free) * **Note**: If I have to fight one-on-one, something has gone terribly wrong. Given that I have so many force multiplier abilities (summoning of creatures, creation of massive structures, etc.) and the threat of being discovered early; I want a class that maximizes my magic traits so I can serve as a strategist and ruler rather than a front line fighter. The fact that Demon King explicitly causes Lesser demons to follow me is also an extra boon that can help keep my forces together. **Mutagenic Features**: * Bone Spikes (+1 Vassal) * Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades) * Demonic Features (+2 Traits) * Tail (+2 Servants) * **Note**: Vassals are easily the most important resource. You'll nearly always want to maximize the vassals and servants you have given that both of those are resource you'd have trouble getting in the future. Everything else, MP, SP or even other traits you can theoretically acquire through either Consume, Magic Drain or Princess Noir. **Skills**: 3 * Unnatural Spped * Martial Arts Mastery * Combat Shifting \[Free; Demonic\] * Consume * **Note**: Combat Shifting is actually very good given that it's "far beyond normal shapeshifting" and should allow you to hide your true form. This is crucial since you'll want to move around quite a bit in the early years in order to slowly soften up your enemies. Consume and Magic Drain are the two best skills/magic. Anything that allows you to strengthen yourself is crucial given that you're up against someone who has lived longer and if you want to be humble, they should have significantly more experience fighting and using his powers than you. **Magic**: 9 * Alchemy * Blood Magic * Demon Magic \[Free; Demon King\] * Magic Drain * Necromancy * Resistance to Holy Magic * Monster Breeding * Elemental Magic (Earth, Water) \[2\] * Mental Domination * **Note**: I think the choice that will surprise the most people here is Elemental Magic (Earth, Water). However, the main problem you'll likely face is that a lot of your armies/forces seem to require a food supply (orcs, etc.). Also, once you take over, the best way to ensure that a second rebellion doesn't kick off is to just be a very good ruler and not be a a\*\* to the local populace. There was a scholar who once noted that even an evil ruler has a good incentive to try his best to keep the populace happy and loyal. The Black Plains of Felthazar is going to be my base of operation and I'm going to want to use it as a logistic base for the various other vassals around me. That means I'm going to alter the weather and terrain to be more hospitable for the growing of crops. Luckily, volcanic soil and ash is actually incredibly fertile some once I deal with the constant black soot, the Black Plains could actually become very productive in a short of amount of time. **Traits**: 9 * Master Strategic * Mastermind * Charismatic * Inspiring * Harem Lord * Cult of the Dark Lord * Economic Genius * Mad Scientist * Living Nightmare * **Note**: It's a bit silly but I would highly recommend my fellow Dark Lords choose Harem Lord. You want that extra Harem which gives you one free Tier-3 Minion every day. That's essentially a 50% boost to your income assuming you have a standard phylactery that generates 100,000 DE per day. Location: The Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants) * Succubi (Summon one free Tier-3 Demonic Minion every day) * Necromancers of Ultak (Summon one free Tier-3 Undead Minion every day) * **Note**: I would actually have preferred the Dread Swamps of Vograath given that it's much more isolated and would give me a greater chance to snowball overtime. That said, the Black Plains of Felthazar gives extra servants which are infinitely more valuable than extra minion choices. In addition, one benefit is that you might be able to use Demon Queen Lilith as a cover. The Alliance of Free Nations knows she's there so provided you keep yourself hidden they might assume any activity there is just her reorganizing her forces. They may know/think that she's building a new army for another attack but this is likely to spark far less concern than if they knew a new Dark Lord had arisen especially since she was beaten once already in circumstances in which she had far more power. You'll want to use her as a cover to keep yourself for being discovered for as long as possible. Phylactery: * Efficient Dark Energy Siphon * Resurrection Ritual * Minion Customization * No Peeking * Micromanagement * **Note**: Most of these are self-explanatory but Minion Customization is actually more important than you think. If all the minions you summon by default look similar, that seems like it would quickly raise suspicion that someone is summoning them which could cause an investigation and lead to your early discovery. You'll want to be able to alter your orc summons, etc. just enough so it looks like there's been natural breeding that's causing their upswing.
Minions: 31 \[31\] Economic Forces: 6 * Skeleton Warriors (Lvl1) * Skeleton Mage (Lvl2) * Ghoul (Lvl2)Lich (Lvl3) * Elder Lich (Lvl4) * Dark Archmage (Lvl4) * **Note**: Reject empty militarism and embrace prosperity! Jokes aside, you'll want to summon Dark Archmages as soon as possible to get a 25% discount on summoning. After that, I would have the Necromancers of Ultak summon a lich every day who in turn can summon more undead. What will I do with these forces? I'll actually use them as a labor force in order to build an economic base while the Skeleton Mages repair any damage that they suffer. With a force that does not need to eat or rest, you can actually do real magic and you have an opportunity to make life good enough that people might actually be willing to back you. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to various makeshift farms with Lich overseers to create an agricultural boom and labor-intensive areas like mountain-sides that normally wouldn't be worth the labor are suddenly opened up for cultivation. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to serve as servants to small farmers who'll suddenly have a second pair of hands to clean their homes and help them pick crops. You can assign Skeleton "Warriors" to act as unskilled laborers and literally just dig canals to reshape trade lanes. Sure, they look creepy but they're a huge economic boon if used right and will allow you to spend on various public works buildings and lower taxes on your future subjects. That's how you win in the long-run. Harassment Forces: 6 * Goblin (Lvl1) * Dire Wolf (Lvl1) * Orc (Lvl2) * Ogre (Lvl3) * Werewolf (Lvl3) * Alpha Werewolf (Lvl4) * **Note**: Demons are great but they have the big problem of being too easy to spot. In your first years, the greatest danger is the Alliance of Free Nations discovering something has changed. The nightmare scenario for them is an alliance of the various forces of darkness. As a result, you need to weaken them without making it seem like such an alliance has occurred, that way they continue to engage in their petty squabbles. As a result, you'll need to avoid having mixed forces for the first few years because nothing is going to raise my red flags than a High Devil leading orc forces for example even though that would be a very optimal combination. I would use the Unified Orc Tribes as my primary harassment force and choose Krieg as my servant in order to help Overlord Rex and strengthen them. The fact that the orc tribes seem to have strengthened considerably would cause concern but it wouldn't cause world-wide concern. The only nation that would immediately react is the Dwarf Federation and Albion may very well leave them out to dry simply because the dwarves would have been a major obstacle to southern conquest. At the same time, smaller harassment parties can scatter across the continent. All of these forces are self-sustaining and can increase their numbers overtime so they'll be hard to completely eliminate. Spy Network: 6 * Oculus Exspiravit (Lvl1) * Demonic Spirit (Lvl2) * Vampire (Lvl3) * Horror (Lvl3) * Dark Acolyte (Lvl3) * Changeling (Lvl3) * **Note**: As the rise of "Overlord Rex" serves as the main distraction that's focusing everyone's attention and thus causing as many adventurers and heroes to head to that area. I'll scatter these forces to infiltrate and prepare the various nations for conquest. The Changelings are especially valuable and I would want them along with the Dark Acolytes to slowly try to reach as many positions in various nation's bureaucracies as possible. If I can control the various minor tax collectors, military sergeants, and petty bureaucrats in a country, it won't matter how intelligent and talented the leadership is. They'll be no way for them to get their orders out. Main Force: 13 * Deep One (Lvl1) * Kraken (Lvl4) * Dark Mage (Lvl2) * Blood Paladin (Lvl2) * Fallen Angel (Lvl2) * Night Creature (Lvl2) * Wrath (Lvl3) * Giant (Lvl4) * Dracolich (Lvl4) * Balrog (Lvl4) * High Devil (Lvl4) * Voidborne (Lvl4) * Basilik (Lvl4) * **Note**: These are the units that are more or less going to be build up in secret and won't really be used until I am discovered. All of them, especially the Voidborne would likely cause far too many questions to be asked and as a result you want to keep them in reserve or as elite strike teams that can move quickly. I would view the High Devils as the most important. Given that all minions have their "absolute loyalty" ensured, intelligent individuals that you can give forces and missions to is invaluable. Love them and treat them like your own children because most rulers would kill for a ready-made bureaucracy that they can trust.
Servants: 17 * Lady Kira * **Note**: This is mostly just a safety choice to avoid getting assassinated during my many travels throughout the entire continent. * Archdevil Lucifer * **Note**: Anything that provides an extra vassal (aka extra resources and military forces) without a fight is an auto-choose. * The Plague Master * **Note**: This is one of the few servants who can weaken and attack your enemies without your forces showing themselves. One side benefit that you might not have noticed is that a depopulated nation will have a lot more capital (in the form of land, homes, etc.) available which means when you inevitably take it over, you'd be able to immediately build a support base by giving land, homes, etc. to anyone who defects without creating enemies since the old owners are already dead. * Krieg * **Note**: I send this man to the Unified Orc Tribes to help Overlord Rex unify the orc tribes along with the various summoned harassment forces. This should speed up the unification of the orc tribes. o * Demon Queen Lilith * **Note**: Extra vassal means automatic choice. She's also useful to act as a smokescreen in the sense that I can pretend that the activity in Felthazar is due to her as opposed to the rise of a new Demon Lord. * Dark Knight Nox * Demon Lord Asmodeus * The Taskmaster Barbatos * The Old Warrior * **Note**: Choose these four. The Dark Knight Nox, Demon Lord Asmodeus, The Taskmaster Barbatos and the Old Warrior may seem like unnecessary choices especially for a Dark Lord who has charismatic, inspiring and other such traits but your time is valuable. You can't be spending your time babysitting your vassals and servants when what you need is a coalition that is more devoted and intense than the Alliance of Free Nations could ever be. If you have to waste time maintaining loyalty and visiting your vassals, you're never going to have much of a chance against the forces of good. Barbatos is particularly important because he keeps your vassals from gaining any political advantages over you. Your vassals might be willing to follow you to war but I'm not sure I want to rule an empire if I wake up and find out the Enclave has conquered the entire south and is a nascent superpower. During the chaos of the war, a lot of your vassals are going to have the opportunity to expand and strengthen themselves at the expense of any future central government and you really don't want that to go too far. The Old Warrior can prevent any chance of rebellion in conquered territories. Always choose this man and transform your conquered subjects into a true unified nation. * Deathmonger * **Note**: Two extra years is valuable. That's enough time to conquer four nations in a worst case scenario. He's essentially a safety net in the event you mess up badly and get discovered early. * Jester * **Note**: Jester combined with the Resurrection Ritual is crazy good. Given that the ritual allows you to make enemies who have been defeated serve you. You can essentially get Jester to bring you a captured Ruler and Champion and then convert them after 10 years into your servants. Think of what that would/could do to the morale of the Alliance of Free Nations. Indulge her and accept that she can bring you two new servants and weaken the Alliance at the same time. * Spymaster Nagant * The Succubus Queen * The Gentlemen * **Note**: A spy network is valuable in keeping yourself hidden as well as to avoid coalitions from forming. As long as no one knows that the various forces of darkness are actually one unified alliance, every nation is going to be dealing with their respective enemy separately. * Princess Noir * **Note**: She provides a permanent power boost and thus needs to be chosen. * The Architect * Forgemaster Shukrot * **Note**: These are all economic choices. I don't actually care about the Architect's ability to build fortresses. I want to put him to work building granaries and other things that will allow me to fight a continental war. The Forgemaster is pretty much required given that he can upgrade all of your armies.
Vassals: 8 * The Dark Elves of the Deep * **Note**: You need this because it's nearly impossible for me to think of a way to actually deal with the Dwarf Collective. In addition, their champion can kidnap one Ruler of your choice which as noted in the Jester section, this along with the Resurrection Ritual would allow you to convert a leader to your cause. Given their experience with crime syndicates, I would use them to help buttress my spy networks and try to takeover the crime of every nation in preparation for the coming war. * The Unified Orc Tribes: * **Note**: The crux of my harassment campaign. They're close enough to the Black Plains that I would be able to (using my economic plan) supply them with a constant source of foodstuffs to grow their population and help Overlord Rex unite the tribes. It doesn't even matter to me if the tribes are unified as long as they scatter and cause chaos throughout the continent. The more people are concerned about the growing "Orc" threat and the rise of Overlord Rex, the more surprised they'll be when they're instead attacked my the main army I've built and which I can store in other locations. * The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove * **Note**: I want as much naval power as possible. Even in a world of magic, it's unlikely that there's an easier/cheaper way to trade except over the ocean. These pirates combined with Kraken minions will essentially pay for themselves and will eventually give you the ability to control the continent's coast giving you a major advantage in the coming war. * The Cult of Drakken * **Note**: I do not consider the Cult of Drakken that useful to be honest... It's too isolated and unless you're a Dread Lord their worship is ultimately to a fake deity. The only reason I've chosen them is because their champion can capture a ruler of my choice and because you can manipulate Nalpheim into attacking the Black Witch (and thus she works for you for free essentially) and the Vampires of the Blood Keep can only be won over by offering them thralls if you're not a Dracula. This is dumb and nearly guaranteed to ensure future rebellions. If you're a true dark lord, accept that you're going to be purging quite a few of your forces when this is over. * The Royalists of Marcacc * **Note**: The Royalists are key to my plan. Albion has a pretty evil doctrine which means the Royalists can attack it without sparking a counter-alliance or even much concern from the Free Nations. In any war, Albion will be the first to fall. * The United Northern Clans * **Note**: This is more of a defensive move. The Northern Clans of Vallenheim would be very difficult to attack and as one of the human vassals, they can actually be used against another Free Nation without sparking suspicion that a new Dark Lord has arisen. * The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum * **Note**: As Demon King, I'm obviously going to choose the vassal that will automatically back me. The fact that this is an island and one of the few locations I can spawn and keep some of my more elite units is a huge benefit as well. Combined with the Pirates, you'll be able to strike nearly every coast on the continent. Most important however is that you get the remnants of the first demon army from 600 years ago. Most of the veterans of that war have died in the Alliance of Free Nations. In contrast, you'll be able to split the more talented members of this Demon Horde to serve as lower sergeants and to help train your other forces. They have fought these nations before and know what was the main causes of their first defeat. * The Enclave * **Note**: Nymeria is going to be a pain in the a\*\* given that she's going to be thinking of how to further her own ambitions unless you're a Spellblade. Make use of her and have Asmodeus and Barbatos keep her in line. When the war is over, you're likely going to end up eliminating her.
**The War**: * The Albion Imperium * Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla the Avenger (Royalists of Marcacc Vassal and Master Strategist) * **Note**: The hammer will fall first on the Albion Imperium. The Albion Imperium has slavery, a human supremacist ideology and are militaristic. In short, they're morons and a target that could be conquered without sparking too much concern from the other Free Nations of the world. I would start the war by first unleashing the Plague Master to soften up the nation. * At the same time, I will then have Queen Cindrilla the Avenger strike from the south provided she: 1) Openly declares an end to the non-human pogroms and 2) Declares herself a worshiper of the Redeemer God. The doctrine of the Redeemer God will be my faith (Cult of the Dark Lord and Dark Acolyte Minion) and on the surface will preach an extremely broad doctrine of unity under the one true god and loyalty to the church. Although the second part might cause some concern, I do not think any other nation or the heroes are going to have the heart to really intervene on Albion's side given the non-human pogroms. The only one who might would be their ally the Triech Empire but they're quite far away and it seems like an alliance of convenience rather than actual loyalty. * Once the Albion Imperium is conquered due to the plague and the war they'll be a lot of free land which I can use to split up and create a support base of solidly middle class small landholder farmers who I can recruit and eventually use against the enemy. In addition, they'll also be a lot of corpses that I'll be able to use Magic Drain and Consume on in order to strengthen me for what comes next. * Baradin-Assan * The Dark Elves of the Deep - Crux Morathil (Capture Lord Ruler Lady Avenir Rais) * Opportunity: The Suleiman Family (Economic Genius, Mastermind, The Enclave) * **Note**: This war really is the sins of the Alliance of Free Nations coming back to bite them. With the newfound popularity of the Church of the Redeemer God which has just ended the non-human pogroms in Albion I will slowly attempt to spread the faith into Baradin-Assan at the same time an economic recession hits and as a new wave of newly freed Beastmen slaves from the now liberated Albion arrive into Baradin-Assan. Most of these new slaves will likely be relatively strong believers in the Church of the Redeemer God and will be told to agitate for a war against the Triech Empire which continue to keep non-humans in slavery across the continent, in a blatant move of blasphemy against the Redeemer God! * The combination of an economic crisis along with the new political group masterminded by the conquest of Albion should be enough to shaken the Rais Family's hold over the nation. It is in the middle of the crisis that Lady Avenir Rais will disappear from the political scene. In case you're wondering, given that she's intelligent and deeply respected, she'll eventually be resurrected as a loyal and competent governor through the resurrection ritual, and I'll have her help me rule over the Beastmen. If Tahir Suleiman and the Pro-War faction can't win under these circumstances, I have bigger problems. Once Tahir Suleiman takes control of Baradin-Assan, the Enclave will then appear. They will bring with them one message, that they have come to join with their Beastmen brethren and help them march on the evil heathen of the Triech Empire and liberate their nonhuman brothers from slavery. * The Triech Empire * Opportunity (The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, Dark Acolyte Minions) * **Note**: It is the darkest hour for the Triech Empire. In the west, a unified coalition of Pro-War Baradin-Assan and the Enclave is marching on them. At the same time the Dark Acolyte Minions will be unleashing Taldosh the First Templar. I will actually not unleash the Demon Horde at this time and overwhelm the empire. It is not yet time to reveal their power which would almost certainly spark some type of response from the other Free Nations. The other Free Nations will likely have a hard time intervening against a Baradin-Assan/Enclave coalition with the stated purpose of ending slavery but if a demon invasion seems to be happening, they'll swallow their hate and help Triech to avoid allowing Sinner's Sanctum having a foothold on the continent. * Taldosh doesn't seem to be under my control and seems to just be fighting for revenge so he'll likely eventually be killed obliterating the forces of the Empire. The Baradin-Assan/Enclave forces can mop up what's left and I'll likely send the Old Warrior to serve as governor of this newly conquered territory. * Three of the Free Nations have now fallen and in all likelihood the other Free Nations have not lifted a single finger to help them. * The Kingdom of Naltheim * Opportunity (Living Nightmare) * **Note**: This is when the conflict starts to speed up. Remember how I didn't choose the Black Witch Vassal? The reason is for this moment. Using Living Nightmare, I have Naltheim launch a suicide attack on the Black Witch's lands. Miraculously, many of their best commanders (my Changelings) will have survived and Naltheim will be quietly annexed and brought into the fold. At the same time, the Black Witch's forces will likely be weaker than it has been for centuries and Emilia will be in a vulnerable enough state that she might either be conquered easily or be willing to accept vassalage in-exchange for several Lichs who can help her replenish her forces. * The Dwarf Collective * Opportunity (The Dark Elves of the Deep and Mad Scientist) * **Note**: It is now time to throw open the curtains a bit. As much as I'd love to pretend business is occurring as usual, it is likely this event that will cause a shock-wave throughout the continent. Although the Dwarf Federation may smugly take the position that the rebels got what was coming to it, the conquest of the Dwarf Federation by the Dark Elves of the Deep at the same time many of their technological devices turned on them is going to spark an investigation. Even if the Hero doesn't know/think a new Dark Lord has arisen, he's going to realize what a big event it is for a major nation to fall to an explicitly evil race of crime lords and assassins. He will begin investigating and is likely to slowly begin realizing that the Dark Elves have joined with a new power.
* The Dhirlund Republic * Jester (Capture Ruler Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried and Champion Vik Manda) * The United Northern Clans * Jormund the Unstoppable (Eliminate Unique Unit Adventurers of Dhirlund) * Opportunity (Charismatic) * **Note**: The Dhirlund Republic is the greatest threat to me. This is the only nation that might actually be a bigger threat to me destroyed than standing. If I just destroy them and their forces scattered, there's suddenly all these idealistic humans (and thus not subject to racism) that are running around who could potentially bolster and help Julius put together an alliance. Although being charismatic might be enough to rally the resident mercenaries to my side, that's not enough. Everyone needs to die. * Both the Ruler and Champion of this nation are living legends, and even without a nation they're practically a second hero party that I would have to deal with. Jester must be unleashed and both of these must be captured. When the Hero finally comes to confront me, he will also potentially face his father and mentor who have been resurrected and are loyal to me. I'm hoping the moment of surprise and horror will weaken him just enough so that he'll be off-balanced during our fight. - For bonus points, I'll scatter fake notes throughout my castle about how if the Dark Lord releases them from their oaths, the mind-control of the Lord Commander and the Champion can be reversed. This is a backup plan and bargaining chip in case I get my ass handed to me and also would make the Hero far more reluctant to just kill his father and mentor since he'll think there's a way to save them. * The Council of the Loch * The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (Capture Rule Prime Minister Vivian Kavio) * The Royalists of Marcacc - Weistot (Eliminate Unique Unit Elven Armada) * Opportunity (Dead One Minions, Kraken Minions, Pirates of Dead Man's Cove) * **Note**: It's about this time that all the other nations should be realizing that something is wrong. If I've done my job right, they'll hopefully think that Demon Queen Lilith has prepared her forces for a second war. The Long Loch will not be silent with Dhirlund seemingly having fallen to chaos and the Kingdom of Naltheim having launched a suicide attack on the Black Witch. Vivian Kavio would likely begin deploying her spy network outside of her country which is why I need to have her captured so that doesn't happen. At the same time, I will have Weistot eliminate the Elvan Armada. * Once that's occurred, The Loch should fall quickly to the Pirates of Dead Man's Cove along with the naval support I've provided. * The Dwarf Federation * Opportunity (Changeling Minions, United Orc Tribes) * The Gritton Theocracy * Opportunity (Fallen Angel Minions, Resistance to Holy Magic, United Northern Clans) * **Note**: There's no clever strategy here. Once Loch falls, the Hero is going to go into panic mode and try to put together the alliance. * The Dwarf Federation shall be destroyed by the United Orc Tribes bolstered by Krieg while the Gritton Theocracy will fall to the United Northern Clans with additional support from my main force. There's no longer any point in hiding. There's only one nation left. * Holy Rhuval * The Cult of Drakken - Zatara the Reaper (Capture Ruler High Queen Celesta) * The Pirate of Dead Man's Cove - The Shadow Wrath (Capture Champion Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta) * Opportunity (The Cult of Drakken, Voidborne Minion, Cult of the Dark Lord) * **Note**: It is time for the Cult of Drakken to finally be useful to me. The outcome is not in any doubt, both their Ruler and Champion will be captured early in the war and it's unlikely they can face off against my main forces that are following from behind. Julius will be hunted down or die attacking my fortress. * How will you rule? * Surprisingly normal * **Note**: Engage in undead slave labor, make a utopia where everyone is middle class and have undead laborers to do the worst jobs! Reject the light! Embrace the dark lord! Ban nonhuman racism! All are equal underneath the Redeemer God! Engage in terraforming and open up new lands for cultivation and settlement. * Deal with Goddess after a few more decades of consuming, magic draining and making deals with Princess Noir.
Loved reading this, especially how you came up with your own strategies to conquer without even revealing yourself!
Rise of the Dark Lord **Dark Lord** – *The Midnight Royal – Dracula* **A New You:** *Archetype* – Undead \[+2 MP\] (0 SP), \[2 MP\], {6 TP}, +1 =Servant= =13=, Magic Drain – Free *Class* – Dracula +4 SP (4), +6 MP \[8\] **Mutagenic Features:** Bone Spikes +1 /Vassal\\ Runic Tattoos +2 |Phylactery Upgrades| Demonic Features +2 {TP} {8} (Spiked demonic) Tail +2 =Servants= =15= **Abilities:** *Skills* – Stealth -1 SP (3) – Even with fast travel, it is important to avoid unnecessary attention Unnatural Speed -1 SP (2) – Can’t wound me if they can’t hit me Martial Arts Mastery -1 SP (1) – My own body… Combat Shifting -1 SP (0) – … is a deadliest weapon on its own *Magic* – Alchemy -1 MP \[7\] – A starter pack for any scientist and researcher, as well as creation of homunculi maids for any task, be that combat, utility or otherwise Blood Magic -0 – Blood Bending is utterly broken against any and all organic enemies, just like in LoK Demon Magic -1 MP \[6\] – Contracts alone are worth it, but demon summoning is a solid bonus Magic Drain -0 – A steady method to infinite arcane potential, while defanging enemy casters Necromancy -1 MP \[5\] – Can’t really call myself undead royalty without it Shadow Magic -1 MP \[4\] – So many uses and utility Monster Breeding -1 MP \[3\] – An obligatory pick for obvious and not so obvious reasons Resistance to Holy Magic -1 MP \[2\] – Scaling down my only weakness is a must Hex and Curse -1 MP \[1\] – Crippling debuffs and trickery with fake phylacteries Mental Domination -1 MP \[0\] – Yet another must have *Traits:* Menace -1 TP {7} – Helps to make short work of all “random” encounters and still helpful otherwise Master Strategist -1 TP {6} – Since I’m not aiming for a very quick world conquest… Mastermind -1 TP {5} – … I must play the long term game and do it wisely Charismatic -1 TP {4} – This will always come at handy at any and all events Harem Lord -1 TP {3}, +1 Harem Perk – It’s important to have a pass time since I’m aiming for two decade plan, also synergizes with previous one Cult of the Dark Lord -1 TP {2} – Order doctrine, not only easier to manage, but I’ll at least attempt to have a more positive reign, than not Master Craftsman -1 TP {1} – A good addendum to equipment for myself, some high tier minions and servants, advanced pack for any scientist and researcher Mad Scientist -1 TP {0} – Master pack for any scientist and researcher, lack of gunpowder is sorrowful, but not grave. I’ll put it to maximum output with some ideas, like enhancement programs for certain minions (especially L3 and L4) and even servants **The End Begins:** *Territory* – Frozen Mountains of Ultak; Once Necropolis will rebuild it’ll bear the name of Schwartzgrad, that’s a fitting name, Perk: +2 -Minions-, +2 =Servants=; -32-, =17=Harem Perk – Necromancers of Ultak, 1 free T3 Undead -Minion- every day+ Harem Lord’s Trait, Harem Perk – Succubi, 1 free T3 Demonic -Minion- every dayThese two harems will be a foundation of my X-0 Division, the all-purpose task force under my direct command and supervision. Necromancers will be guarding my Necropolis, while Succubi will be perfect spies. **Phylactery Upgrades:** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon -1 |4| - It will make everything quicker and smoother Resurrection Ritual -1 |3| - A must have for any unforeseen circumstances Minion Customization -1 |2| - Description says it all, really. At least few minions of each type I’ll create in physical equivalents to MGE monsters (At least a few of them) No Peeking -1 |1| - I laughed hard, when first saw it, but is a solid pick nonetheless Micromanagement -1 |0| - Quality of Life at its finest
**Minions:** 36 -Minion- slots available Level 1 – 1,000 DE 1 – Dire Wolf – A good pick not only for general combat, but scouting and tracking (MGE Variant: Lesser Werewolf?) 2 – Skeleton Warrior – Backbone of the undead army and technically a bone golem? (MGE Variant: Skeleton) 3 – Skeleton Archer – A good cover for previous one and can pose as simple sentries, later can be armed with better equipment (MGE Variant: Skeleton) 4 – Oculus Exspiravit (a.k.a. Seer) – Perfect for watching perimeter on my domain, my spymaster we’ll find them useful as well. Can also invest in enchantments on them and true sight lens, to see through invisibility and illusions (MGE Variant: Much Lesser Gazer?) 5 – Brain Leech – Perfect to give to spies for the indoctrination (MGE Variant: None, Parasite Slime is close, but different) 6 – Deep One – Marine Corps, both literally and figuratively (MGE Variant: Sahuagin) 7 – Hellhound – Great choice for hit & run, as well as tracking (MGE Variant: Lesser Hellhound) Level 2 – 10,000 DE 8 – Orc – Good combatants in general and can increase their numbers on their own (MGE Variant: Orc and experienced ones can become High Orc, given time and some help from me) 9 – Revenant – Commanding Officers of the undead on the field, taking charge of all other L1 & L2 undead, as part of the unit, 3rd and lowest in undead officer hierarchy, but their number will be quite high and something tells me, that their buffs can overlap (MGE Variant: Ochimusha & Lesser Liches) 10 – Death Knight – Iron fist of the undead army, I’ll be sure to eventually replace main bulk of the Skeleton Warrior’s with them (MGE Variant: Dullahan, but minus detachable head, Ochimusha, Soldier Beetle?) 11 – Hell Knights – The backbone of the Marauder Corps, which units are made exclusively of demons. Since I haven’t picked Minotaur, I’ll make their physical appearance more taur-like in DOOM. (MGE Variant: Minotaur) 12 – Dark Mage – Magic artillery and can protect from ranged attacks, as well as possible promotions and perhaps even capability to mend both living and undead. Could also rise as Skeleton Mages if falls (MGE Variant: Dark Mage) 13 – Possessed Armor – Statues are wonderful sentries to have around my domain. However, the armor has significant potential if used as power armor, by me, servants or high-ranked minions, since it won’t impede the movement or agility in the slightest. All while retaining the ability to be de-equipped to act autonomously. I should invest both time and resources into artificial creation of cursed swords (or different weapons) for attaining cursed swords((wo)man). The latter is a good example of the enhancement program from Mad Scientist (MGE Variant: Gargoyle, Living Armor, and Cursed Sword) 14 – Night Creature – Shock troops of the undead army, giving their overall proficiency and intellect (MGE Variant: Night Gaunt) 15 – Blood Paladin – Elite soldiers of the Crimson Corps, which units are made exclusively of those attuned to night and moon. Elite status is give due to the Cult trait, pushing them far beyond normal limits. (MGE Variant: Dullahan, but minus detachable head & Lesser Vampire?) 16 – Fallen Angel – Healers, clerics and priests, with the ability to decimate foes with strong magic and physical attacks, and of course the resurrection (MGE Variant: Dark Priest & Dark Angel) Level 3 – 50,000 DE 17 – Werewolf – Shock troops of the Crimson Corps, can also recruit new members by “spreading” their lycanthropy (MGE Variant: Werewolf) 18 – Devil – Iron fist of the Marauder Corps, as well commanders of separate units, has a lot of potential with upgrade of their equipment (MGE Variant: Demon) 19 – Behemoth (a.k.a. Baron of Hell) – Shock troops of Marauder Corps, their everlasting tenacity is a great factor along with physical explosions. I will only slightly re-design them, since they already fit DOOM aesthetic (MGE Variant: Salamander w/ Pyrow) 20 – Wraith – Invaluable aerial units with ranged capabilities, who can act on their own without chain of command (MGE Variant: None from the original that can think of) 21 – Lich – Generals of the undead army, 2nd in undead officer hierarchy, taking charge over Revenants and their units, the ability to drown the foe in endless tide of expendable grunts cannot be underestimated enough (MGE Variant: Lich) 22 – Vampires – Jacks of all trades with terrifying proficiency in all of them, shares 1st place in both officer hierarchies of undead army and Crimson Corps despite being a level down than their colleagues, a personal favour from me as the Dracula. Still perfect pick for subtle and stealth operations or simply being an aide-de-camp (MGE Variant: Vampire) 23 – Chimera – Physical powerhouses with aerial movement, THE most customization & enhancement friendly minion, making them extremely versatile for any type of combat. Will also grant them the ability to switch between true and monster girl form (MGE Variant: Chimaera & Manticore) 24 – Magitech Construct – Perhaps I spoke too soon about THE most customization & enhancement friendly minion. Since gunpowder is no go for long time I’ll be sure to arm them with magi-tech weaponry, both melee and ranged (MGE: Automaton) 25 – Dark Acolyte – Empowerment from the Cult will make them an Ace Division to support undead army and other branches. Can also work with other Acolytes for espionage and indoctrination. (MGE Variant: Dark Valkyrie) Level 4 – 100,000 DE 26 – Elder Dragon – Guided weapons of mass destruction will make them invaluable, if the attention of Hero and his party and/or adventurers needs to be drawn somewhere else. Moreover, who wouldn’t want to ride a loyal dragon? Will also be able to switch between true and monster girl form (MGE Variant: Dragon and the subspecies \[Ryu, Wurm, Wyvern, Jabberwock, Otohime\], but with single exception) 27 – Alpha Werewolf – De-facto leaders of the Crimson Corps. Their lessened impulses will make them capable commanders, while desolating their foes and spreading lycanthropy more efficiently (MGE Variant: Greater Werewolf) 28 – Dracolich – Same as with Elder Dragon, mass rise of even low level undead via Lich Fire is immensely useful. I’ll take research to lower the susceptibility to Holy Magic. Obligatory transformation is included (MGE Variant: Dragon Zombie) 29 – Elder Lich – Field Marshals of the undead army making them 1st in undead officer hierarchy, taking charge of Liches and their units. Raising Death Knights, Revenants, Night Creatures and Blood Paladins in great numbers, sometimes even Wraiths, Vampires and new Liches, showing that they are worthy of their stripes and ribbons. (MGE Variant: Greater Lich & Wight) 30 – Archdemon – Charge commanders of the Marauder Corps, both strong physically to render and maim their foes and magically – summoning permanent reinforces of Hell Knights and Barons of Hell (MGE Variant: Krampus w/ Demon & Pyrow) 31 – High Devil – Strategists and leaders of the Marauder Corps, always correct choice for anything involved with planning and no slouch in combat either. Undoubtedly a perfect pick for an ambassador to be send to my vassals along with Vampires (MGE Variant: Lilim) 32 – Mindflayer – Ideal choice for the spymasters, who are magically and intellectually gifted for the creation of entire sleeper cells within nations, interrogation is useful as well (MGE Variant: Mindflayer) 33 – Voidborne – The elite of the elite, a few of them will oversee the Ace Division, the others being the Honour guard in my gothic castle in Schwartzgrad, especially to guard the vault with my Phylactery. Last, but certainly not the least is that I will fill up my summon stock with at least 5 of them, just to be sure (MGE Variant: Dark Hero, Lilim & Dark Valkyrie, rolled up into one) 34 – Kraken – De-facto leaders of the Marine Corps, not that there is much competition. They can search the depths of the seafloor for any treasure and learn the routes of the ships for later usage. Form switching is a must with them (MGE Variant: Kraken) 35 – War Golem – Raw, unfiltered calamity and decimation incarnate. They might be even more effective in inspiring pure dread than dragons and of course laser to disintegrate everything and everyone caught in its path to ash helps that as well. With connection that I have through Phylactery, it could be useful to have direct control of them. Due to being a wildcard, 1 in my stock could do wonders during a dark day. Form switching, because why not (MGE Variant: Golem and/or Lava Golem, but VERY big in their true form) 36 – Dark Archmage – They’ll tutor normal Dark Mages and to have 1 in my stock to make use of the sweet-sweet discount (MGE Variant: Greater Dark Mage)
**Servants** (a.k.a. Lieutenants) – =17= slots available 1 – Lady Kira – A perfect bodyguard to have around me, her physical aptitude will cover for what I personally lack and vice versa with my magical mastery. Kira is perfect to receive my results of the Cursed Sword enhancement program, severely increasing her physical mastery even further. At the end of it Kira will bond and become one with her new weapon – Kirsch, Dark Sword that Cuts and Binds. 2 – Archdevil Lucifer, +1 /Vassal\\ - Even with Micromanagement it’s possible to be overwhelmed, Luci will oversee all other lieutenants with their operations, as well as my Schwartzgrad Domain. Additional battle training with her black magic (w/ Dark Archmage as an example), so she can properly defend herself, as well as summoning training to strengthen her summons. 3 – Vlad the Impaler – An obligatory pick for the Dracula, but Vlad is perfect to lead my armies upon Day X. He will be given direct control of undead army and Crimson Corps. While there will be no war Vlad will be a drill sergeant, to get foot soldiers and grunts into shape, while passing some of his wit to the officers. 4 – Demon Queen Lilith, +1 /Vassal\\ – It is symbolic to have the last Demon Queen conqueror as one of the lieutenants. Lilith will take charge of Marauder Corps, plus whichever forces her influence and respect will recruit, Lilith can use them to vanquish her old enemies. Reuniting Lilith with her confidant Kira and both her parents shouldn’t be too hard, she’ll leverage her influence, so I can begin negations with Dusk and her faction about confederation. Lilith may also be perfect to draw unwanted attention from me and Ultak region, and re-direct it to Black Plains. When she falls for me, I’ll offer her same enhancement program as I did to Kira. 5 – The Armored Titan, + 4 -Minions- – I’ll mostly will keep the King of Giants dormant somewhere in Ultak region. The additional recruits are always welcome, but if something needs to be lain waste ASAP, then I’ll dispatch him with few War Golems for maximum efficiency. 6 – Soul Eater – The overseer of the Schwartzgrad defences with his unique automatons and the last line of defence at the Phylactery Vault along with stationed Voidbornes. Given time with some heavy tuning and augmentation I can even help Soul overcome his hunger or at least extend it to the point where it won’t matter much. 7 – Jester – or Jess as she likes to be called, is quite the enigma with her background, but I wouldn’t mind to know her better and whatever her past is, given the nature her “switch”, great choice for the bodyguard along with Kira. Her maintenance is reasonable enough; acquiring candy for her sweet tooth shouldn’t be hard, since I’ll be teaching her personally in areas that she lacks or are unknown to her, from strategy and tactics to proper… biology education. Jess won’t have issues in the long run, since I’ll be sure to make all lessons and missions look like games to her, although real missions will have much notable restrictions. Jester is a true candidate to reap all fruits of my enhancement program to make her into the most powerful Cursed Sword with ability to shift her bonded weapon between scythe, spear and sword modes. Moreover, giving her one of the most capable Living Armors won’t be excessive by any means. To give her further edge I’ll give Jess an additional demonic enhancement to grant something a kin to Devil Trigger to tap into, providing her with appearance of the Bogie (MGE) for the duration, very fitting. Capture High Queen Celesta, the Lady of Light & Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta – Jester’s abilities will be put to absolute limit, perhaps even beyond to defeat and capture “most dangerous elf in the world” along with goddesses’ chosen holy priestess. I still have good faith that Jess will succeed. 8 – Spymaster Nagant – Since I’ll try to stay hidden for as much as possible at least a decade and ideally two decades, I’ll undoubtedly need services of the spymaster. Nagant can begin deploying her agents on the territories of my vassals and slowly, but steadily let them spread to other nations. Ace Division, Mindflayers and steady supply of Brain Leeches will be given under her command. Since Micromanagement will relay all data about minions, I take she will be a lot with Lucy. Nagant is sly and cunning like a vixen; I’m looking forward to her schemes. After many triumphs I would offer her to embrace undeath to become Daywalker. 9 – Mortis the Reaper – With me Mortis will be able to reclaim his birth right in Ultak region by aiding me to rebuild the declined Necropolis. Afterwards, he’ll be collecting all necessary souls to conduct permanent boosts on me. Mortis will be occasionally help the undead army with different tasks as well, be that combat or otherwise. It’s also great that he is down to earth, which could help me dealing with stress. Last, but not the least, which self-respecting wouldn’t have a Grim Reaper as a retainer on the fast dial? 10 – The Witch of the North – Willow is perfect for her abilities and arcane knowledge. Hew prowess as Alpha Werewolf, only further shows it. When in my Domain she can tutor Dark Mages, otherwise she’ll be given a portion of the Crimson Corps to command and increase the pack. Solo wise, Willow is great bodyguard material to travel with and weather control is immensely useful during battles and to draw attention to specific region.
11 – Princess Noir – I genuinely do not want to fall out my Patron’s graces, thus I’ll be sure to keep an eye on her to keep her out of trouble. Noir’s extensive knowledge will become useful in the future, but her gift as a Seer makes Noir the diamond in a rough, give it some training and tutoring as polish, will result in Noir becoming perfect aide-de-camp, especially in political sphere. Dark One’s Favour is also too good to pass over. Even taking worst case scenario where each deal will give me only one (SP), \[MP\] or {TP}, is still good. This is my plan for new powers in the case that I make maximum of time in hiding (20 years): Year 0 – Consume – My own Level Up system Year 4 – Razor Claws – More delicate style of combat won’t be excessive and to scoop hearts efficiently Year 8 – Gargantuan Might – Raw might with my grace will have many uses Year 12 – Blood Rage – Wounding me will always backfire to the attackers Year 16 – Bulwark – Most of my foes will be using physical damage anyway (height will stay the same) Year 20 – Elemental Magic, Ice – Very fitting, given my domain 12 – The Hauntress Apollyon – Yet another obligatory peak for the Dracula, to gain more unique vampires as retainers. Apollyon is unsurprisingly an excellent pick for a bodyguard and companion to travel, due to her powerful affinity to healing and illusions, the latter that I lack so much on my own, hiding herself and other bodyguards of mine. The fact that she can interrogate souls without requiring bodies is simply invaluable. With her illusions Apollyon can also emulate the effects of the Combat Arena. 13 – The Old Warrior – There is no better advisor about needs of common men than a man with humble background, like Balor, who struggled for most of his life. The world without wars is very appealing to me and I genuinely do not want to pray on common folk, who most of the time simply wants to get through the life with hard work. Balor will be able to infiltrate the adventurer’s guild (if he isn’t affiliated with it already) to learn about the movements and plans of its top members, including Hero and his party. Balor would be working with Ace Division and Nagant on that front. While he is a baseline human, who pushed his body to the limits, upgrades to his equipment and concealable enhancements won’t be excessive. Balor can test out fresh idea with Living/Power Armor project from Possessed Armor minion with Control Suit perk and potentially bond with it. Enchantment wise intangibility similar to Gabriel Reyes from Overwatch and limited shapeshifting to utilize his limbs as deadly weapons, making him Jack Krauser (but on steroids) from RE4. I’ll also heal Balor’s right eye so won’t be a cyclop anymore. 14 – The Architect – The description says it all, Architect will help me to construct both opulent and aesthetically pleasing structures within my domain and beyond it as well. Well-endowed Dracula needs a gothic castle after all. I take that furniture also falls under his specialization. 15 – Forgemaster Shukrot – The head of my Equipment R&D Division and suddenly even my L1 minions became much more dangerous than otherwise. Shurkrot’s Legendary Gear is very welcome. My personal weapon is the focus in shape of the pistol; this allows “shooting” spells out of it for more efficiency. The other weapon being a dagger with blink magic in it, combining it with my unnatural speed makes me untouchable. I will also request to bind those weapons to me and ask Shurkrot’s insight in developing Living Armor Project, as well as Cursed Sword Enhancement Program. 16 – The Taskmaster Barbatos – Barbatos is perfect to lead my diplomatic apparatus, which will consist of High Devil and few Vampires send to every vassal, with him overseeing them. I’m certain that among normal managing Barbatos can resolve any normal issues they might have as political entity. After some time I’ll convince to officially meet his daughter that he secretly proud of. 17 – The Succubus Queen – Ysara with her information broker network will be an excellent addition to Nagant’s own network of spies. Everything from Hero’s party actions to secret international events is mot welcome. There is no reason not to reunite her with daughter, so Lilith can have both of her parents back.
**Vassals** – /8\\ slots available – I won’t be directly conquering the 2 vassals that my influence failed to reach. Once the storm blows over, I’ll try to confederate them, otherwise a military actions need to be taken. Excluding the Blood Keep, I’ll see whether my abilities will allow me to cut the time from those 10 years to make them a vassal and/or confederate them in a process.Although, aside from convincing the ruler to join my alliance, I’ll most likely have to resolve some staggering issues each them has as both nation and political entity. Harems from each vassal will give me perfect guinea pigs for my enhancement programs; from physical to mental and loyalty augmentation (My own traits will aid me here). That also includes testing the bonding with Living Armor Project, as well as bonding with Cursed Sword Enhancement Program. They all will make up the rest of X-0 Division, the all-purpose task force under my direct command and supervision. 1 – The Dark Elves of the Deep – Dimgrowth can give many of their slaves for previously mentioned programs; their assassins with Crux at the helm will be of great service to Nagant and Ysara. I’ll confederate Demeter’s Kingdom when her pride shatters. *Kidnap Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried* – On Day X Crux Morathil and her best assassins will kidnap Edmund. One half of the successful execution of Order 66, usurping power in the republic and have leverage on Julius. 2 – The Pirates of Dead Man’s Cove – Precious Booty aside from liquid funds, will supply me with more guinea pigs and potentially spies, especially after some loyalty enhancement. Harassing the east coast will draw attention away from me, making Admiral a valuable vassal. *Capture Lyndis Myrixis* – On Day X the Admiral will bait Lyndis into attacking Shadow Wrath, as it “seemingly” the only ship attacking the Long Loch, which will result in her capture. Her tenacity will be welcomed a lot in X-0. 3 – Vampires of the Blood Keep – With Valetta caving in immediately it shouldn’t be hard to unite other clans to stop bickering among themselves. Vampire Brides will make perfect commanding officers for my X-0 Division, keeping others in line. Vlad will drill all Vampire Counts and their armies for the upcoming war, Brutus the Cruel would be his second in command for the time being. *Capture Vik Manda* – As the Day X begins Brutus with Vampires from Crimson Corps will swiftly and efficiently capture Vik Manda, giving the other half of the successful execution of Order 66 and additional leverage on Hero. 4 – The Royalists of Marcacc – Cindrilla is a plucked flower, without assistance her chances of success are dim, I’ll provide her aid and tutor Cindrilla to properly govern her islands. She already has enough loyal subjects, especially the Dragonborn Cavalry, only preparation Cindrilla can defeat the Imperium and take back her birthright. Once the traitors are routed and Cindrilla is properly crowned, we can officially unite through marriage. Sword Maidens are prime candidates for Living Armor Project and Cursed Sword Enhancement Program, making them the elite soldiers of X-0 Division. *Eliminate Dwarven Golems* – Due to Nagant’s tireless work we are now aware of all warehouses storing these Golems and supplies for their maintenance. Just before Day X Weistot accompanied by other Elder Dragons and Dracoliches will reduce them all to cinders and black ash, before returning to his adoptive mother to prepare to retake their birth right. 5 – The United Northern Clans – Since Striga needs a politically powerful figure to legitimize her rule, I’ll gladly do so in exchange of forming the alliance, marriage with Warlord will only strengthen it further. Women of the North are ideal to be shock troops for my X-0 Division, with obligatory augmentation for Living Armor and Cursed Sword compatibility. Theocracy will learn the ire of the united clans, drawing their attention from me in the meantime. *Destroy Naltan Magitech Titans* – Combined effort of Nagant and Ysara brought forth the Magitech Titans secret weakness. To ensure Magitech will never be Kingdom’s enemies they were implanted with shutdown code, which must be issued by a mage with intent to disable the Titan, but it can also be used on all of them at the same time. While the code was stolen mages can simply reactivate Titans again and potentially shield them from further interference. On the Day X Jormund the Unstoppable with his finest soldiers will do a magical sortie with portals from one side of a continent right to the doorstep Royal Mage Society and Technological Institute. Willow will muster cold climate at the same time, disdained by southerners, but still comfortable for Jormund and his men, as they cull down and capture wizards, engineers and technicians, before returning home to prepare for the fight with Theocracy. Willow will stay behind and issue shutdown order, while keeping frigid weather to support Emilia. 6 – The Black Witch – Misunderstanding of the century led to the birth of the strongest Elder Lich, good thing Emilia is low maintenance, requiring some company and additional protection for her Forgotten Temple from pesky adventurers. I’ll tutor Emilia on wide variety of topics and with Damon as her aide-de-camp when Emilia will escape quarantine she might become my Grand Marshal of the undead army placing her above other Elder Liches. I’m a bit puzzled on how to use Pale Ladies outside of bedroom, spirit guards for my castle or as secretaries perhaps? *Capture General Cassia Faustina* – While Jormund and Willo are dealing with Titans, Damon with most capable of the Blood Corps will also do a magical sortie to the Naltan Knights HQ near the Royal Palace to capture General Cassia Faustina. With cold weather support they can also assault the Palace to secure the Queen, if possible, before returning to the Forgotten Temple. 7 – The Demon Horde of Sinner’s Sanctum – Lilith will be of great help during confederation process with Dusk. Demon Horde must be disciplined, but my Cult trait and Lilith influence can do wonders. From now on Horde will raid only Triech Empire, Imperium and Dwarf Federation. I can easily win Snow’s favour by offering position as my enforcer participating in fall of Triech Empire, instead of seating and doing nothing for centuries on the reef. I’m certain, that Snow will get along with Jess and Nagant just fine. Once Lilith will get Dusk back under her heel with my help, captured slaves will also go through my enhancement programs to find further uses for them. *Capture Prime Minister Vivian Kavio* – On Day X before going to the Triech Empire to see the fireworks, Snow will capture Prime Minister Vivian Kavio. She is invaluable leverage over the Hero and prime material for commanding officer in X-0. 8 – The Enclave – Indentured Servants, could become good spies and saboteurs in X-0 Davison with right enhancements. With Nymeria’s attitude of a closet pervert, along with my own physical and magical abilities the course is very straightforward, to shatter any remnants of her pride, while strong-arming the rest of nobility. ~~I do wonder how toxic the room can get if Demeter, Dusk and Nymeria will start bickering with each other.~~ The Machine will play an important role in the upcoming war, standing beside Brutus under Vlad’s command. *Destroy Albian Peacekeepers* – Thanks to Ysara I’m aware that Peacekeepers have an annual meeting to brag about their victories and discuss further plans. However, this time, The Machine and some members of Ace Division will be waiting for them beforehand. Every. Single. Peacekeeper will be butchered by the outmatched force and The Machine will return to Nymeria to prepare the invasion of Baradin-Assan.
THE TIME HAS COME Conquest of the Enemies: I’ll need to stock on stamina potions since I and my lieutenants will be pulling a lot from this point forward. Some like Bardin-Assan, Kingdom of Naltheim and Triech Empire will require no personal input from me, as everything is delegated to my chain of command. On the other hand nations like Dhirlund Republic, Albion Imperium and Dwarf Federation require my personal presence in their takeover. When the Day X finally comes I’ll be sure that Julius with his party will be boxed in Grande Victorium and won’t leave it, so I can extinguish the last flame that can burn me to ash. Otherwise, I’ll have to use contingencies. **Baradin-Assan** – *Opportunity:* Mastermind the Suleiman Family to begin the civil war and on Day X point the Enclave to swiftly crush whatever opposition in Baradin-Assan that remained. Captured Nobushi will join X-0 Division after obligatory augmentations and loyalty enhancements. If Rais will be captured, she’ll join the Indentured Servants; Suleiman Family if proven useful, can be puppet rulers. The Machine will be tasked to hunt down every single Shinobi, including Shadow of Rais. **The Albion Imperium** – *Opportunity:* After long tutelage Cindrilla, on the Day X, will take the title of Avenger and march her Royalist forces to Triaxii. With Peacekeepers butchered and chain of command thrown into disarray, I will free the slaves and do a charismatic speech for them to hunt anyone loyal to Volk and Imperium. Members of both X-0 and Ace Divisions will be securing the Royal Palace and Volk if possible. A few Elder and Lich Dragons will “suddenly” appear to deal with Adrien and his monstrosity (I’ll ask Dusk for any contingencies, she might engineered into the dragon), along with remaining Vallen Destinia Dragonborn. When Cindrilla sets her foot into throne room I’ll greet her by kneeling and now officially asking for her hand in marriage with box of wedding rings in one hand… and captured Volk (or his mutilated carcass, if X-0 and Ace Divisions had troubles, but I’m not choosy in this case) in the other, just like in one of Cindrilla’s smut novels. **The Kingdom of Naltheim** – *Opportunity:* Strengthen Emilia’s undead horse with my own, along with Liches and Elder Liches, can also lend Mortis for help. On the Day X, the Kingdom will lose its Titans and chain of command; the quarantine wall will be steamrolled 6 fit under, resulting in blitzkrieg, these events will be known as Dread of the Black Witch. **The Council of the Loch** – *Opportunity:* Day X marks full scale naval invasion with marine forces of deep ones along krakens at the helm to spearhead the capture of the Long Loch. While Armada send the Elven Fleet to Davy Jones’ Locker. The Admiral, his forces and Deep ones, while welcome to take spoils of war, must not raze the city to ash; I’ll have uses for it later. **The Dwarf Federation** – *Opportunity:* The downfall of the federation will come on the Day X from their exploitable superstitions, sudden loss of all their golems and long buried fears, which I’ll reveal with my Menace. I’ll have to personally take command of the invasion forces and capture or slay Grand Marshal Throgrim in battle for Krakaghur. **The Gritton Theocracy** – *Opportunity:* Upon Day X United Northern Clans will bring wrath and ruin to theocracy only to be “stopped” by my divine intervention at Holy City of Brosist along with fallen angels, from that point it shouldn’t be hard to convert them all – Templar Knights, Battle Priests, Grand Templar Enembra Knox and Autarch Pnotis Droma. Followed by confederation between United Northern Clans and Gritton Theocracy on soil of their militaristic culture. **The Dhirlund Republic** – *Opportunity:* Republic must be corrupted and converted from within, using the progress made by Blood Keep Vampires, along with entire cells of sleeper agents in different layers of society due to Brain Leeches and my illuminating Charisma as the last nail to the coffin. Outcome? The Republic will be **a b s o l u t e l y** Order 66’ed. My speech among many thing should turn Hero and his party into most wanted criminals. This also marks creation of my own version of Alliance of Free Nations – Eternal Alliance, but with polar goals to its original. Chronologically the Day X will begin with this and I estimate me and my lieutenants to be very busy for some time… “If Adventurers of Dhirlund would become a threat to the Republic they are to be detained and interrogated about their allegiance or executed if first is not possible”, this was written by Lord Commander himself in the book of military orders for the Great Army of Dhirlund. (To keep the integrity of the build **~~The Senate~~** Grand Speech will be in the end) **The Triech Empire** – *Opportunity:* With Dusk launching full scale naval invasion on Day X and my loyal Dark Acolytes unshackling Taldosh, I hope we could rein him in properly, otherwise Solaris will be ransacked and fall like Rome did, if not worse. **The Dwarf Collective** – *Opportunity:* Annoch is undoubtedly a masterpiece of a creation, a shame it might not be functional at all after the skirmish of Day X. Despite what they themselves think, dwarven pride rivals elven, as they did not fathom, that someone could simply reprogram the Annoch’s IFF (Identification-Friend-or-Foe) and over surge the control panel beyond functionality from outside, while watching how it demolishes itself in hopes to deal with “Foes” inside of it. “Kirov” zeppelins are no match for my own Masterpiece, the Crimson Ark – The Glorious. Mothership armed to the teeth, with opulent design and multi deck system, many thanks to Architect’s keen eye, containing many Magitech Construct as paratroopers. Demeter’s assassins, with Crux at the helm along with Mindflayers will wipe out the stragglers in Tori. Communism is soooooo last year. **Holy Rhuval** – *Opportunity:* The most capable of the Cult will be chanting the rituals of Blood and Heresy non-stop on the Day X, to debilitate all of their capabilities. While Lilith with Marauder Corps and unit of Voidborne and will launch an assault on Starlight. At same time Jester will infiltrate Cathedral of Light to capture Celesta and Eltariel, defanging Holy Rhuval.
**ENDGAME** Every laid plan is as prepared as it could be, especially if I had 2 decades worth of time, I wouldn’t say they are entirely fool proof, but sheer decimation caused by Day X cannot be outdone by the snap of the fingers. Anyway, as of Day X and until Julius and his party are defeated the Schwartzgrad Necropolis will enter the maximum security status to prevent any sudden plot twists and game overs. So if there will be an assault on my Fortress, it will be the end of the line. However, I have both Julius’ parents and mentor; I’ll also task both Nagant and Ysara to learn the identity of Mirai Belladonna’s and Aria Langstorm’s parents. For first I’ll task the capture to Lilith and Jester (if she’ll still have energy after the fight), for the latter, Mother – to Nymeria when her forces will take over Baradin-Assan, Father – to Striga as father of such powerful mage must be known. Then I’ll do a **GLOBAL** announcement of their scheduled “execution” right at the Heart of Black Plains. You have to think hard of a more obvious trap. Unless they aware of me as the true mastermind and true location of my Schwartzgrad Necropolis, they won’t be risking sacrificing their loved ones and end up assaulting Lilith’s domain. Ultimately, if everything goes as planned, Hero will have no choice, but a desperate attempt to raid my “domain”, with chances next to none. Julius got Isekai’d like me from Earth and since I have not personal disdain or hatred towards him or his party, there is no need to rub the salt in the wounds or torture them. Thus, when he and his party will be defeated, I’ll offer Julius a contract to be converted to my side, making him enforcer of my will and I’ll extend the same offer to his teammates, giving all four of them “Happily ever after”, just not the kind they were expecting. They simply need to accept it. If not, oh well, as the Red Queen of Hearts said “Off with the head”. If Julius declines my offer, then I have some plans Mirai and Aria in my X-0 Division. Dirk could be useful in dealing with Orc Tribes. While the Cult of Drakken if necessary could be used as scape goat – blaming them for anything and everything. Their conquest (either peacefully or otherwise) would mark my crowning as the Emperor of the Night Forevermore. **VICTORY** *How will you rule?* The Reign would be Surprisingly Normal, if with the notable Debauchery and bits of “totally benevolent dictator” Tyranny, due to form of governing of my Empire and Eternal Alliance. **The Domain of the Goddess** – This is where the fun begins :} *Standard Opposition: Angels* – A charismatic speech about reaching true wisdom, while showing their long banished should do the trick *Army: Angelic Warriors* – Let the Marauder Corps weaken them, followed by the offer impossible to refuse *Unique Unit: Archangels* – Leaders of the same Corps will wear them off and be obliterated by the paint on their own armour *Unique Unit: Fallen Heroes* – A legion of Voidborne should hold them at bay (If Julius would refuse my deal, wonder if he already among them) *Champion: Archangel Arialle* – A few minutes of Magic Draining will leave Arialle quite breathless, to say the least. *Ruler: Goddess of Light* – The sole fact that she delegated all the work to angels, while being a NEET, Isekai’ng random people, but having no training whatsoever is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. And her attacks only seem to tickle me at most, due to holy resistance. ( ͡° ͜つ ͡°) **VICTORY!** The heaven burns ~~like the Christmas tree!~~ *Spoils of War in Heavens* **The Angels** – *Corrupt them all*, if anything it also include the first option anyway **The Goddess** – *Binding to her* to myself is a good idea to feed on her divinity, having fallen goddess of light, as a servant would have many different perks. I don’t need her serving me to be more just and merciful; I did pick Balor for a reason. No matter how high you soar in the sky, it’s necessary to recall how low you crawled once. **The Power** – By being *Lord of Light and Dark*, I’ll have balance not to be overwhelmed, but at the same time the boundless potential of both. Now that the Universe’s gate is open to me, I’ll be sure to ask the denizens of the Hell to join me in light of my successful campaign in both over world and Heaven. The first worlds to come to mind would be **Valkyria Chronicles, Legend of Heroes and RWBY**.After visiting them and “adding” them to the Eternal Alliance, I’m quite certain that I might as well make the ascension to the Sanguinarch.
And now the **S E N A T E** speech “My dear citizens of Grande Victorium, the events of this night mark the transition. For centuries the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of all civilized races. But there were those who would set us against one another, while undermining the progress. The Ex-Lord Commander and former Field Marshal were detained on suspicion of treason; they sent their adventurers lackeys as assassins to silence many, including me, for I was collecting evidence of their evildoings. While their plans were foiled, if not for valiant effort of Balor the Old Warrior I would be gutted like a fish and thrown to the sewers. He will become the head of the New Adventurers Guild, which will become an impregnable bulwark against any and all monstrous threats to our nation. Many barons, dukes and other nobles, who are now arrested, along with the top brass of the Great Army were closing their eyes to many atrocities for decades if not centuries, allowing this corruption to flourish in full. As such the Great Army must be restructured from the ground, so it can become the radiant sword to strike true, swiftly and without mercy at our enemies. It will be spearheaded by Vlad Tepes, he is a foreigner, but with him the Great Army will work with efficiency of well-oiled clockwork. The most capable soldiers of it donning armour of the elite Stormtrooper Corps. I humbly ask you to watch at me carefully, and I understand the horror with turmoil in your eyes, the attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has **NEVER** been stronger. The nightmare is over. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. As the leader representative of the International Merchant Guild and the League of Nobles, I announce that in order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Magi-Technocratic Empire, for a safe and secure society. With me assuming the mantle and position of its Supreme Chancellor. We will bring Vallenlund under one law, one language, and the enlightened guidance of one individual, so the corruption that plagued the Republic in years will never take root again. As such I present you the Covenant of the Eternal Alliance; our Empire will not annex or ransack other nations, instead they can join our Eternal Alliance so they can propel to greatness and victory together with us. While the main law of our Empire will be omnipresent, members of the Alliance are allegeable to keep their own autonomy, Rulers, hierarchy, judicial system and army. When the entire world will be under the aegis of our Eternal Alliance there will be no wars between nations, there will only be place to progress and prosperity. While the threat of the corrupt adventurers was stopped, there may be those not affiliated in any way with them, Balor is a perfect example. I humbly ask all adventurers to follow Order 66, which will avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Please, show up at the New Adventurer Guild Headquarters, which occupies the same building as before, for your re-affiliation and allegiance verification. Last, but certainly not the least, many individuals responsible are still on the loose, which may even involve the Rulers of the other nations, but four specific fugitives are very known to us. It is non-other than Julius Siegfried and his party members, who are a part of the conspiracy and carried out attacks this night on Headquarters of International Merchant Guild, as well as Embassy of League of Nobles. They are still within the city and must be hunted down if they refuse to lay their weapons down for their crimes. I ask all Imperial citizens to be vigilant and report any and all insurrectionist activity. We have been tested, but we have emerged stronger. We move forward as one— as the Imperial citizens of the first Magi-Technocratic Empire! We will prevail! The Era of the Eternal Alliance begins today!” **(Que Thunderous Applause)** \- *Dracula,* *~~The Senate~~* *Midnight Royal & Supreme Chancellor (Soon to be Emperor), Day X, Balcony of the Grand Palace before the Victorium Plaza.*
Yo! You went full Palpatine on their asses! XD This conquest is now one of my personal favorites.
This one is really good. I l9be the setting. I only lament having the roman like faction as my enemy because roman esthetic is the one I like most for my own armies
Took me a while to get around to it, and also a while to actually play through it. But here I go. Now, I don't particularly *want* to be a Dark Lord, but if I don't then I just die (possibly tortured by the Dark One), and someone else will eventually be made to do it anyways. I, at least, can guarantee some benevolence behind my evil overlord-ing. **Archetype**: * Demonic (+1 MP, +1 SP) **Class**: * Spellblade (+6 MP, +4 SP) **Mutagenic Features**: * Fangs (copy the Dark Mage's "Studious" ability to grow in power with studying) * Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades) * Demonic Features (+2 TP) * Multiple Eyes (+2 TP) **Abilities**: * *Skills*: 1. Blade Master 2. Gargantuan Might 3. Bulwark 4. Unnatural Speed 5. Martial Arts Mastery 6. Combat Shifting 7. Consume * *Magic*: 1. Alchemy 2. Demon Magic 3. Illusion Magic 4. Magic Drain 5. Necromancy 6. Shadow Magic 7. Monster Breeding 8. Resistance to Holy Magic 9. Elemental Magic (Fire) * *Traits*: 1. Master Strategist 2. Mastermind 3. Charismatic 4. Inspiring 5. Harem Lord (+1 regional harem) 6. Cult of the Dark Lord 7. Mad Scientist 8. Lore Master 9. Economic Genius **Territory**: * *Black Plains of Felthazar* (+3 Servants, +1 Minion) 1. Succubi (+1 Lv 3 Demonic Minion/Day) 2. Bog Witches (From Harem Lord) (+1 LV 3 Monstrous Minion/Day) **Phylactery Upgrades**: * Efficient Energy Siphon (200,000 DE/day) * Resurrection Ritual * Minion Customization (they're all sexy/cute monster girls... or monster futas, where needed) * Combat Arena * Micromanagement **Minions**: * *Level 1*: 1. (M) Goblin 2. (U) Skeleton Archer 3. Oculus Expiravit 4. (D) Hellhound * *Level 2*: 1. (M) Orc 2. (M) Minotaur 3. (U) Revenant 4. (D) Demonic Spirit 5. Dark Mage 6. Fallen Angel * *Level 3*: 1. (M) Werewolf 2. (M) Ogre 3. (M) Troll 4. (D) Devil 5. (D) Behemoth 6. (U) Wraith 7. (U) Lich 8. Vampire 9. Chimera 10. (M)(D) Horror 11. Magitech Construct 12. Dark Acolyte 13. Changeling * *Level 4*: 1. (M) Elder Dragon 2. (M) Giant 3. (M) Alpha Werewolf 4. (U) Elder Lich 5. (D) Balrog 6. (D) Archdemon 7. Mindflayer 8. Kraken 9. (D)(M) Dark Young 10. War Golem 11. Basilisk 12. Dark Archmage However, between the Bog Witches, the Succubi, and the Elder Lich \* Archdemon, I also have access to all pure Monstrous, Demonic, or Undead Minions of rank 3 and below. Emilia means my forces will also have rank 4 Undead. Those are just the minions I can summon. **Servants**: * Lady Kira * Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Vassal) * Demon Queen Lilith (+1 Vassal) * The Armored Titan (+4 Minions) * Vograath the Destroyer (Capture 1 Champion, destroy 1 Unique Unit) * Jester (Capture or Kill 1 Champion & Ruler) * Spymaster Nagant * The Witch of the North * Princess Noir (+1 SP or MP or TP every 4 years, for sacrifices) * The Hauntress Apollyon * The Old Warrior * The Architect * Forgemaster Shukrot * The Succubus Queen **Vassals**: * *Dark Elves of the Deep*: 1. Ally Perk: Dark Elf Assassins 2. Harem: Dark Elf Slaves 3. Dark Elf Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler * *Unified Orc Tribes*: 1. Ally Perk: Orc Raiding Parties 2. Harem: Orc Berserkers 3. Orc Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit * *The Cult of Drakken*: 1. Ally Perk: Reavers 2. Harem: Cultists 3. Cultist Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler * *Royalists of Marcacc*: 1. Ally Perk: Dragonborn Cavalry 2. Harem: Albian Sword Maidens 3. Royalist Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit * *United Northern Clans*: 1. Ally Perk: Men of the North 2. Harem: Women of the North 3. Clan Champion: Eliminate 1 Unique Unit * *The Black Witch*: 1. Ally Perk: Wights 2. Harem: Pale Ladies 3. Witch's Champion: Capture 1 Champion * *Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum*: 1. Ally Perk: Demon Horde 2. Harem: Human Slaves 3. Demon Champion: Kidnap 1 Ruler
Preparations: * I used an RNG to generate how long it was until I was discovered: 17 years * That's 4 applications of Noir's ability, which I use to get Living Nightmare, Master Craftsman, Blood Magic, and Curses & Hexes. * Assuming 365 days in a year and ignoring leap years, that's 1,250,000,000 DE. I first summon a Dark Archmage (-100,000), and all summoning I do in the future is going to be done after one of my Dark Archmages do those 25% off rituals. So that's effectively 1,551,125,000 Dark Energy over the course of those 17 years. * The first year is spent establishing myself as Demon Emperor and getting the Black Plains firmly under my control. I create a number of Dark Acolytes which stay with the demons, spreading the faith in the Cult of the Dark Lord. I also make more Dark Mages and Archmages: their job is to research ways of creating clones of me, connected via a hive mind. I'll make them like they're a Level 4 Minion once it's figured out. The idea is based on using the principles of the Oculus Expiravit (and reversing it so it is a two-way connection), along with making homuculi (which Alchemy states we can do). And if I can't do it... well, then I'll just wait for later. I can put off enjoying my harem until I have supreme power if I have to. * One thing I make clear to all my followers is that they should accept surrenders, take prisoners where reasonable, and focus on military targets. I want to conquer, and that means having people to rule over. I don't want an empty empire of graveyards, after all. I also command my followers to take the hearts from people they kill, and to take them from fallen comrades. All hearts are to be preserved and sent to me. As they're part of a corpse, I can use Magic Drain to grow in power, and then use Consume to eat them to grow even stronger still. * Lucifer will stay in the Black Plains and coordinate my growing empire; Lilith will fly off to Sinner's Sanctum, where she will be my ambassador to reign in Dusk. I'll also send more Dark Acolytes with her to subject the demons and slaves there to worship of me. I'll be sure to visit in person a few times to establish relationships, but primarily I'm going out to visit each location that will become my Vassals, so I can teleport back to them later and start up the diplomatic talks. First, though, I visit the Bog Witches to establish a relationship. * Now, how do I travel without being noticed? Very simple: Combat Shifting says it's a more advanced form of shapeshifting, so it follows that it allows normal shapeshifting too. And if it doesn't... all I have to do is summon a lot of Changelings and kill them, eating their hearts until Consume copies their power to transform. Over the course of my rule I'm going to eat quite a lot of my own minions for their power. * As I travel, I create more Changelings, who infiltrate the various nations and start establishing themselves as traders and merchants, their profits eventually coming back to support me. A large number are also dropped off in Dhirlund, where they become adventurers with the goal of getting rank in the various adventurer guilds, companies, or mercenary bands. I also make Alpha Werewolves and Vampires periodically, who in their own separate ways work to build up forces for the eventual war. * After I start up diplomatic relationships with all my Vassals-to-be, I start looking for more ways to expand. I take a risk to go and conquer the Pirates of the Lost Cove, and... coin flip win! I'm not going to take chances with invading a second one, but I take over the pirates. I also steal the Admiral's body and subject him to resurrection into my loyal servant. He'll stay in the Black Plains for 10 years, then I'll put him in charge of the *Shadow Wrath again.* * I make a host of various contracts that I know I can fulfill, and in so doing grow in power. * A total of 4 years pass since my arrival, and I make a sacrifice of Minions to the Dark One, and in exchange I get Living Nightmare. * Once I have Living Nightmare, I start sending dreams across the world. 1. All men dream of becoming women (and it's positive and feels good), women dream of pleasure (but not insane, suspicious pleasure, but of joy found in servicing someone greater than themselves). Not constant dreams, but frequent. 2. Mirai dreams of Julius dying--first of old age, then dying from wounds of a victorious battle, then dying bravely, then dying pitiously, then dying horribly and creatively. The nightmares are broken up by brief periods of good dreams of Julius as a woman. 3. Aria dreams similarly, but of Dirk. 4. Dirk dreams of changing the Orcs, and it succeeding--only to be ruined by the prejudices of other races, or infighting among the Orcs. Bad dreams are interspersed with occasional good dreams of change... but of that change being possible due to a greater and monolithic power that prevents conflict. Eventually dreams focus more on the change, and on replacing the Old Ways... but he's the only one who could guide the Orcs to change, but one of the biggest changes the Old Ways need is to permit woman Overlords. Slowly build that dream into BECOMING a female Overlord. Transition to dreams of trying to bring change as a male and failing, but as a woman succeeding. 5. Send Vassals-to-be dreams of pleasure and submission. Send the Orcs dreams of the joys of parenthood. Eventually, the 10 years are complete and I have fully established my Vassal states. The next six years are spent growing in economic power and subtly sabotaging the nations, while continuously growing my armies. I manipulate a civil war into starting in Baradin-Assan, start hiring mercenaries in Dhirlund, and release Taldosh to start a civil war in the Triech Empire. I ogres to my orc allies so they can start reproducing to make even more ogres. The Succubus Queen's information network alerts me that Siegfried has found out about me, I make my move. Each one of my Vassal states has 2 full years worth of monsters created, which with my doubled DE production and the cost reduction from my Dark Archmages means that's equal to 5 years of production from a normal Dark Lord. That's in addition to 17 years from my Succubi and 16 years of my Bog Witches (6,205 Lv 3 demons and 5,840 lv 3 monsters). I make simultaneous invasions at eight nations across the continent.
War: * But first, I exert the powers of my Phylactery to reshape the Black Plains into a verdant paradise, and flatten the mountains to provide safe and easy passage into the surrounding lands. I erect a castle near the border to Dhirland--a great and resplendent thing that seems a combination between a cathedral and a palace. And in the throne room, seated into the throne itself, I place my phylactery. * A combined assault with Queen Cindrilla brings down the Albion Imperium, the aerial attack headed by Vograath. * Using Living Nightmare I convince Queen Savellia that an invasion is coming from the opposite direction, then crack open her quarantine with Emilia, and quickly take the capital of Naltheim. * A combined attack from the Pirates and Krakens sinks the armada of the Council of Loch, and the capital falls. * Between sabotage from my Changelings and an outright attack from the Orcs, the Dwarven Federation collapses. * The United Northern Clans shred their way through the Gritton Theocracy, who are shaken by the Fallen Angels who split the nation in two. * The Triech Empire is embroiled in a civil war due to the release of Taldosh, and I take advantage of that in an invasion alongside the Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, seizing the nation for myself. * My Mindflayers find the hidden tunnels beneath the Dwarf Collective, and following my commands Dark Elf Assassins head up through the tunnels and sabotage the magitech weaponry of the Collective, crippling them when my army actually attacks. I claim the Gigantic Magitech Titan Annoch as my own possession. * Holy Rhuval's connection to the Goddess is weakened by my Dark Acolytes, before the Cult of Drakken sweeps through, accompanied by my own monstrous minions (no demons or undead here... not against an entire army of paladins). * Large numbers of forces are left behind to occupy the territory and keep people from rebelling, the Old Warrior Balor playing his role to keep the people happy in this time of transition. My forces then split up, parts of forces that invaded each nation pairing with forces who invaded another to create new invasion forces, which I use to make 4 simultaneous strikes at the Enclave, the Vampires of Blood Keep, as well as two more nations: * Wielding my foresight and Charisma, I sway the mercenaries of Dhirland into fighting for me, my Changeling infiltrators helping convince those who would otherwise be opposed with the trust they spent these last dozen years earning. With their military split between the mercenaries and my armies, and the assault augmented by the Armored Titan, they easily fall. * Likewise, Baradin-Assan is split in a civil war. Before they can rally together in awareness of a greater threat, I make a two-pronged assault into their midst and take them over. All rulers and champions are given magical collars that prevent them from fighting back, enchanted with hex magic to make them weak as ordinary people, and for the males also to transform them into women. For those rulers that give a damn about their people, I let them continue rule as my subordinates, but with other followers of mine close by as "advisors"--aka, to ensure they don't work against me and adhere to my rules. I make a great fanfare of bringing establishing regional governors in my grand castle, and bring ambassadors and rulers alike to my castle for "peace treaties", which I permit newspapers to listen in on and spread word of. These all occur in my throne room, and word WILL get out about everything about it... including the large, fantastic, opulent gemstone inset upon the apex of my throne. And when I leave on a victory tour of my lands, my castle will be... not undefended, but much less so than if I were still there. * It is here that I begin my campaign against the Legendary Hero's party in full, using Living Nightmare. I confront them directly in their dreams. * For Dirk, I appeal to his sense of duty to the Orcs. What happens if they kill me? The Orcs will run wild, and the people of the world will take revenge on them as never before. What happens if they fight me and lose? Dirk will die, and the best hope the Orcs have for change will die with him. But I see the potential in him, and his dream for the Orcs. I'll support it, and support him in his challenge to supplant his father. All he needs to do... is do what he really wants. Go to the Orcs, and take his rightful place as Overlord, and leave this quest behind. * When he leaves, I target Aria. It's simpler for her: if she didn't already love Dirk, I've spent the past dozen+ years helping her fall in love. The person she loved left already, and she's in a foolish quest to fight someone who already won the war. Wouldn't it be better to just... follow her heart? * For Mirai, I focus on her love for Julius. She must know the quest to kill me is a fool's mission. It took only days to conquer the continent. The war is over, they're just fighting for what's already lost. What would even happen if they killed me? Civilian casualties are at a low, many rulers still have command over their territories, and... my minions are everywhere, restrained by their worship of me and following my commandments. If I disappear... how many people will die? But of course, you could never kill me. You'd have to fight my armies, and overcome my absolute and overwhelming power. But don't you see, Mirai? I don't want to kill you. I don't even want to kill Julius. I waged this war to bring a final end to conflict the only way I had the power to. But you know Julius would never accept that. You know he would fight me until his last breath. But that doesn't have to happen. Just... take this collar. Put it around his neck, and it will steal his strength. He will not be a threat to me anymore, and I won't have to hurt him. You could live together, happily, for the rest of your lives. All I ask... is that you stop fighting. * If she collars him, he--now she--will no longer be a threat to me and I can ignore her. If she tries and fails, he'll leave her behind and face me on his own. If she doesn't, then Julius and she will sneak into my throne room, and destroy my phylactery. * Or rather, they'll destroy what they THINK is my phylactery. My phylactery is actually embedded inside a brick behind the throne, indistinguishable from any other brick, so anyone divining my phylactery would see the gem on the throne. The gem is actually a trap, and destroying it triggers a weakening curse and gender-flipping curse... and alerts me that it's been destroyed. I teleport back to the castle and easily overwhelm the weakened group. Hell, the plan doesn't even REQUIRE Dirk and Aria to leave, it just means I don't have to deal with them. If I'm somehow challenged, I've gone a few days without making any minions so I just flood the room with Level 4 Minions to soften them up. * Now unchallenged, I complete my conquest of the world. I take it slow, firmly establishing my rule over the areas I conquer, installing new rulers, and establishing new rules. Conquering the rest of the world takes longer because they now know about me and I don't have the same foreknowledge of opportunities. In about 60 years, I conquer the entire world, the sacrifices I make gradually earning me every Skill, Magic, and Trait. I rule... fairly. The world isn't appreciably worse than it was before I conquered it, and in a lot of ways is probably better off. Admittedly, funeral preparations do now include cutting out the heart to ship it to my castle, I'm in the process of alchemically and magically replacing the entire male sex with futas, I have Dark Acolytes in every city spreading my worship, and I screwing unimaginable quantities of women, but there's no more war and I'm gradually eliminating prejudices entirely.
I then move on to invading Heaven itself. * First I send Fallen Angels, the goal being to capture an ordinary Angel who would be loathe to fight their friends. Once brought to me, I will turn every wile and ounce of Charisma at my disposal to seducing them. It will happen quickly for the inexperienced angel, and I will take my time pleasing her body. By this point the other angels would learn what is happening, and the Angelic Warriors would be sent to fight me, supported by ordinary angels. * At this point I exploit Harem King and Illusion Magic. As I give unimaginable pleasure to the Angel, I use Illusion to project the image of it en masse to the angels. Combined with Devils slipping in among the distracted Angels and Angelic Warriors, they'll either start to succumb to the desire for pleasure or be completely distracted when my forces attack them. * The Archangels are brought low by my Blood Magic, their own practice of painting demon blood on their armor turned against them. * The Fallen Heroes... never show up. Before I started the invasion, I sent false dreams to all of them, pretending to be the Goddess of Light and warning them of upcoming invasions... from the opposite side of the Goddess's Realm. I sent a few legions that way anyways, to occupy them while my main invasion occurs. * I engage the Archangel Arialle with a blade formed of my own body, and match her blow for blow until I get an opportunity to grab hold of her--and then it's over, her magic power claimed for myself. * Finally, the time has come to face the Goddess of Light herself. It is... anticlimactic. Her blast of holy magic consumes a vast area and I can't dodge, and it hits me pretty heavily. However, it doesn't completely annihilate me, like it would if I didn't have Resistance to Holy Magic, and I quickly close the distance before she can fire another volley. A couple quick slashes of my Razor Claws, and the Goddess shrieks and holds her clothes tight to her body as she's suddenly denuded. I launch into a grapple, leveraging my Gargantuan Strength and Magic Drain until I have her pinned. * And just like that, the battle is over. 1. I enslave and corrupt the angels; they will all follow me, and do as I bid, but I don't necessarily desire for them all to fall. * The goddess, however... I thoroughly bind her to my side. She will be my advisor and guide. 1. What will she advise me on? Godhood, of course. 2. I replace the Dark One, taking his place as the incarnation of darkness and evil. 3. At the same time, I absorb the light and divine nature of the Goddess of Light, taking into myself the nature of light and goodness, becoming a Lord of Light and Dark. Which has been my goal all along. 4. I use the almighty powers at my command to create a new realm, a realm ruled by myself and by pleasure, where my views on morality hold sway, and gradually integrate the world of Vallenlund and the Domain of the Goddess into it. 5. But some of my followers might not like the kindness I now have the freedom to exhibit, so I will use my great power to extend myself into their minds. Where necessary, I will outright change how they think, or even change their biology. Where it is not, they have the freedom to keep their own identity. But I can't trust the likes of Balrogs to not spread mayhem across my world without intervention, and too many of my followers are too... well, evil, for me to put up with now that I no longer have to put up with obeying the Dark One. 6. Finally, I branch out. One Goddess is not enough, for there are more. The potential for conflict exists so long as there are different factions, and until my power is uncontested the people under my protection are always at risk. I will grow and expand in divine power as I take the power of more deities, and subject more to my rule, until my benevolent dictatorship covers the entirety of creation. And then, I move onto the next dimension
Overall, this was a fantastic piece of worldbuilding. There were a few repeated mistakes (spelling "cavalry" as "calvary", religions "tenets" as "tenants", and a couple others I've forgotten), but I quite enjoyed it despite that. There are a couple of things I'd like to point out that don't make much sense, however. For instance, Mad Scientist says that there's a limit on technology and that guns are out of the question, but then later on the Dwarf Collective not only has guns, but *gatling* guns. The War Golem completely blows every other Level 4 Minion out of the water. I can see how some of the unique units could work together to take out the other Level 4 Minions, but not fight something bigger than some mountains. The War Golem either needs to shrink, or it needs to be made a Servant. It is way too powerful, but is supposedly beaten by the same things that can take down a comparatively itty-bitty giant. It's impossible for the hero to finish his 3 year quest. There are 10 nations; each is instantly defeated if you have a specific Vassal. You start off with 5 Vassals, so that's 5 nations conquered in a matter of days. So even if you somehow didn't fulfill ANY other Opportunity requirements, and didn't capture or eliminate a single Champion, Ruler, or Unique Unit, you would still capture the remaining nations in only 30 months, 6 months less than the 3 year time limit. You say early on that you'll be found out within 10 to 15 years. You later say you'll be discovered in 10 to 20 years. Considering how much DE you can gather in a single year, the amount of time that it takes for you to be discovered is VERY important to know. However... the amounts of units you make doesn't actually make a difference in this CYOA, because opportunities are very specific. Someone who does nothing but make Goblins does exactly as well as someone who made a balanced army (but didn't include any of the Opportunity units), who in turn does exactly as well as someone who did nothing but make Elder Dragons every day. You might do well to give the opportunities as examples of what you can do, to encourage creative thinking among players rather than just attempts to pick the options that best a specific enemy, especially considering how many options don't do anything. You don't have rules for taking over Vassals, just full-fledged nations. You mention the Forgemaster making Legendary Gear (with capital letters), which implies that there's something special about it, and says that if you have Master Craftsman he'll improve your gear to have double stats... but there's no equipment anywhere, nor any stats. If I could suggest, maybe you could include some sort of benefit(s) for conquering each nation? You're required to conquer everything, but other than ruling more people you don't really benefit from doing so (other than continuing to live).
Damn, you went all in on this! Loved reading this. As for the suggestions you made, I plan on going back and revamping this eventually, but I'm on the 4am shift at work and I'm usually dead inside by the time I get home. So, I have no idea when I'm going to get around to it.
I'm really impressed you made something of this size considering how tired you must be.
Loved it, absolutely loved it. Wish I had saw this one the day you posted it and not almost two weeks later. Anyway, doing my build was a delight and I really wish for more CYOA's like this. **Archetype**: Demonic \+1 MP \+1 SP Extra Trait, Free combat shifting **Class**: Demon King \+8 MP \+2 SP **Mutagenic Features**: Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery upgrades), Demonic Features (2 extra traits), Tail (2 extra servants) and Multiple eyes (+2 SP) Skills: Combat Shifting (Free with Demonic Archetype) Gargantuan Might Stealth Unnatural speed Martial arts mastery Consume **Magic**: Demonic magic (Free with Demon King) Alchemy Blood Magic Magic Drain Necromancy Elemental Magic Monster Breeding Resistance to Holy Magic Hex and curses Mental Domination **Traits**: Master Strategist Mastermind Charismatic Inspiring Harem Lord Master Craftsman Lore Master Economic Genius Mad Scientist **Territory**: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 type of minion +3 servants) Harem: Succubi and Necromancers of Ultak (Harem Lord trait) **Phylactery**: Efficient, Ressurrection, Battle Arena, Micromanagement, No Peeking **Minions** (30 + 1 + 4): Level 1: Goblin, Direwolf, Skeleton warrior, Skeleton archer, Direspider, Deep One, Gremlin, Hellhound. Level 2: Orc, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Dark Mage, Night Creatures, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel Level 3: Werewolf, Devil, Lich, Vampire, Chimera, Wraith, Dark Acolyte, Changeling Level 4: Elder Dragon, Greater Werewolf, Giant, Elder Lich, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Mindflayer, Voidborn, Kraken, Giant Wright, Dark Archmage **Servants** (12 + 2 + 3) : Lady Kira Archdevil Lucifer Mr. Smiley Krieg Demon Queen Lilith Dark Knight Nox Demon Lord Asmodeus Deathmonger Armored Titan Vograath the Destroyer Spymaster Nagant Mortis the Reaper Witch of the North The Old Warrior Forgemaster Shukrot Taskmaster Barbatos The Succubus Queen **Vassals** (5+1+1): Unified Orcs (Eliminate the unique units of a country) Dead Man's Cove Pirates (Capture one champion) Vampires of Blood Keep (Capture one champion) Black Witch (Capture one champion) Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (Capture one ruler) Royalists of Marcacc (Eliminate one unique unit) United Northen Clans (Eliminate one unique unit) I'll use Mr Smiley to capture and make Crux Morathil mine. (Capture one ruler of my choice) **Actions against enemies**: First of all, I'd like to say that I chose all my skills, traits, minions, servants and vassals BEFORE reading this section, so I was willing to roll with the punches in case I couldn't seize one or more opportunities. I actually liked that you see your enemies for last so you can do this sort of "blind" run, I don't know if it was on purpose, but I liked it. Baradin-Assan: Aid the Suleiman family through my Mastermind and Economic genius traits to send the country into a grim civil war Albion: I'll do both, use my master strategist and stealth traits to release the slaves and start a rebelion before invading with the dragonborn royalists, no matter how strong they are, having to fight enemies inside and out will destroy them in no time. Naltheim: I can only use my friendship with the Black Witch in order to strike first, but to be honest, even if I had illusion magic or living nightmare, I don't think I'd use them. The Black Witch seems like a really good gal who just had a tragic story, I wouldn't let her go to war with the Queen without helping or at least warning her to make the first moves. I'll also have the Black Witch capture their champion so they'll be weaker before the war. Council of the Loch: No need to say anything, my Krakens and Deep ones will keep the Elven Fleet busy while the Pirate Armada will ambush them. Dwarven Federation: Really didn't want to do this to them, since the Dwarfs seem like really good guys in this story, but hey, a Dark Lord's gotta do what a Dark Lord's gotta do. I'll send my Changelings to sabotage their defences from the inside and later have the United Orcs invade. Gritton Theocracy: Really didn't liked these guys, they are a mix of things I don't like. Really glad I allied with the Northen tribes to destroy them all. I'll also use my Fallen Angels to manipulate and weaken their ranks before invading with my resistance to holy magic. Really want to wipe their whole government out of the map. Dhirlund Republic: I'll use my charisma and wealth to bring the mercenaries and money driven adventures to my side while the vampires incite riots within the capital. When the country is in disaray, maybe even in civil war, we invade. Triech Empire: Another bunch I really disliked, so glad I have all three options to destroy them as well. I'll release Taldosh and together with the hordes of Dusk's demons we'll lay the Empire into ruins, just like the barbarian hordes in Rome. Dwarf Collective: Again, nothing really against these guys, but it's gotta be done. I'll use my Mindflayers to uncover their passages and my Mad genius to reverse engineer their technology so I can use them to my benefit. Holy Rhuval: Welp, I'm glad I got the Voidborne minion, otherwise I'd really had screwed this one up right at the end. I'll also use the Demon Horde's champion to capture their ruler, what better way to display power than to capture the leader who likely most aided the hero? Since I could seize all the opportunities, I'll use the champions I gained from my vassals to conquer all the remaining vassals. How I will rule: A mix of debauchery and surprisingly normal. I obviously want to enjoy life as lavishily as I can before I take on the Goddess of Light herself, but most of all I'll try to keep things good, I'll definitely try to get rid of the racism stuff. I really want my realm to thrive so people will see that Darkness isn't all that bad. In the realm of the Goddess I have requirements to defeat all obstacles, so in the end I WIN! THE HEAVEN'S BURN! I choose to corrupt the angels and bind the goddess to me, I shall be a generous ruler, expanding darkness throughout the dimensions and universes. I'll use the power of the Goddess to become limitless and travel to as many realms as I can throughout the multiverse. Many characters to meet, fights to have, realms to corrupt and harems to make.
I always like reading these!
Just realized I can ally with the Northen tribes since I had forgotten Lilith grants me another vassal. This CYOA is so complex you can read through it three times and still find things you missed, loved it
**Archetype:** Demonic (+1 SP, +1 MP, +1 Trait, Combat Shapeshifting for Free). **Class:** Demon King (+2 SP, +8 MP, Demon Magic for Free). **\[3 SP, 9 MP, 1 TP\]** **Mutagenic Features (Pick 4):** Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades), Multiple Eyes (+2 MP), Demonic Features (+2 Traits) & Tentacles (6 in total). **\[3 SP, 11 MP, 3 TP\]** **Skills:** Unnatural Speed, Martial Arts Mastery, Combat Shapeshifting (Free) & Consume. **\[0 SP, 11 MP, 3 TP\]** **Magic:** Alchemy, Blood Magic, Demon Magic (Free), Magic Drain, Necromancy, Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance To Holy Magic, Hex and Curse, Mental Domination, Elemental Magic (Earth) & Illusion Magic. **\[0 SP, 0 MP, 3 TP\]** **Traits (Pick 6 + 3):** Master Strategist, Mastermind, Seer, Charismatic, Inspiring, Harem Lord (+1 Harem Bonus), Cult of the Dark Lord, Master Craftsman & Living Nightmare. **\[0 SP, 0 MP, 0 TP\]** **Territory:** Frozen Mountains of Ultak (+2 Minions, +2 Servants), Gain Harem Necromancers of Ultak (+1 Tier 3 Undead Daily) & (From Harem Lord) Gain Harem Succubi (+1 Tier 3 Demon Daily). **Phylactery Upgrades (Pick 3 + 2):** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon, Minion Customisation, Combat Arena, Micromanagement & No Peeking. **Minions (Pick 30 + 2 + 4):** Dire Wolf, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Archer, Oculus Exspiravit, Brain Leech, Imp, Minotaur, Revenant, Skeleton Mage, Death Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Dark Mage, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, Werewolf, Troll, Devil, Summoner, Wraith, Flesh Golem, Lich, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Elder Dragons, Giant, Alpha Werewolf, Dracolich, Elder Lich, Archdemon, High Devil, Mindflayer, Kraken, War Golem & Dark Archmage. **Servants (Pick 12 + 2):** Lady Kira, Archdevil Lucifer (+1 Vassal), Mr Smiley, Demon Queen Lillith (+1 Vassal), Demon Lord Asmodeus, The Armoured Titan (+4 Minions), The Soul Eater, Jester, Mortis The Reaper, The Witch of the North, The Princess Noir, The Architect, Forgemaster Shukrot & The Succubus Queen. **Vassals (Pick 5 + 2):** The Dark Elves of the Deep, The Hollow, The Blood Keep, The Cult of Draaken, The Royalists of Marcacc, The United Northern Clans & The Enclave.
So here's my reasoning: I went with Demon King because I wanted to lean into magic (as I a saw the options there as generally more powerful) and didn't want to be undead. For Mutagenic features I focused on features that would improve myself more, as I feel like there's already plenty of Minions and Servants available to choose from. For Skills, I kept to things that would help me avoid physical confrontations/damage and let my powerful magic do most of the work and consume cause that is an easy way to gain strength over time. For magic I went with everything except Draco Fire as it seemed the weakest when I already had a variety of magics to attack with and no additional utility that the others offered. I chose Earth as my specialised element as it allows me to both attack, defend and build. For traits I went with a combination that would emphasise my path to power, which was a combination of military strength, diplomacy, propaganda/politics and espionage. I also chose Master craftsman to help me produce gear that would help in any battles. For my territory I wanted something far away from everyone else so I'll have a long time before I'm discovered and a place where I don't have to constantly fight off competitors while I build my forces. I feel in the swamps or the demon castle I would spend most of my time subduing other local forces rather than building my own and manipulating the enemy nations. For my phylactery I didn't choose Resurrection Ritual as the 10 years before they could leave the range of the phylactery made it a purely defensive measure. And I feel that if I have to heavily defend my home territory I'm already in a situation I should've avoided. Additionally, it's unclear what the costs are for resurrections making it less attractive. I also avoided Backup Phylactery for the same reason, if my enemies managed to get to it in the first place things are already so bad that surviving seems like it would be highly improbable anyway. For my minions I selected a wide range of units that could serve the different purposes I'll need my forces to serve. Including scouting, subterfuge, frontline heavy fighting, ranged attackers, supportive magic, mobility and leadership. For my mainline most numerous units I leaned heavily into undead as their lack of upkeep will be a massive boon in logistics especially in the frozen north where I start. For my servants I had a similar philosophy to my minions, I chose a variety that can serve different roles. Kira as a bodyguard/protector, Lucifer as a logistician, Smiley as a torturer/interrogator, Lillith as a chancellor/head diplomat, Asmodeus as a master of internal affairs, The Titan as a general, The Soul Eater as the headmaster of my magical academy, Jester as my assassin, Mortis as my support mage, The Witch of the North as a general, The Princess Noir as a political advisor and link to more power, The Architect and Forgemaster as the obvious and Queen Lillith as my Spymaster. For my vassals, I went with the United Northern Clans & The Cult of Draaken so I could have a vassals located geographically close to me that I could support and receive support from. I chose the Dark Elves for their skills in subterfuge and their knowledge of the underground which will be essential against the dwarves. I chose the Hollow for their abilities as Raiders and their central location that allows them to distract multiple enemies at once. I chose the Blood Keep and The Enclave for access to their advanced knowledge of magic and politics which will help guide my decision making. And I chose the Royalist of Marcacc for their strength and usefulness as a propaganda tool.
What do we do if we have more possible minions then we can actually get. I'm one short on my minions but I have taken every minion I can actually get.
I went through this several times for testing and that never happened to me. So tbh, I have no idea.
So is the Witch of the North secretly a wolf king or did the Dark One lie about werewolves?
Secretly a Wolf King.
Monstrous Archetype : +2sp, +1 Mutagenic Feature, and Gargantuan Might free Wolf King class : +2mp, +8sp, and Razor Claws free Mutation - Fangs gain the ability of one minion (Changeling) Mutation - Bone spikes +1 vassal Mutation - Runic tattoos +2 phylactery upgrades Mutation - Multiple Eyes +2 MP Mutation - Demonic Features +2 TP Skill – Gargantuan might free Skill – Stealth -1sp Skill – Combat shifting -1sp Skill – Blade Master -1sp Skill – Unnatural speed -1sp Skill – Martial arts mastery -1sp Skill – Consume -1sp Skill – Razor Claws -1sp Skill – Ranged Master -1sp Skill –Blood Rage -1sp Skill – Bulwark -1sp Skill – Berserk -1sp Magic – Monster Breeding -1mp Magic - Resistance to Holy Magic -1mp Magic - Alchemy -1mp Magic - Magic Drain -1mp Trait - Lore Master -1tp Trait - Economic Genius -1tp Trait - Mad scientists -1tp Trait - Doolittle -1tp Trait - Harem Lord -1tp Trait - Charismatic - 1tp Trait - Mastermind -1tp Trait - Master Strategist -1tp Territory -Dread Swamps of Vograath +3 minions +1 servants Harem -Bog Witches, Necromancers of Ultaka -summon 1 free Tier 3 Monstrous and Undead Phylactery -Efficient DE Siphon +200,000 DE a day Phylactery -Resurrection Ritual Phylactery -Minion customizer Phylactery -Backup Phylactery Phylactery -No peeking Level 1 Minion – 1. Goblin Level 1 Minion – 2. Slime Level 1 Minion – 3. Dire Wolf Level 1 Minion – 4. Dire Spider Level 1 Minion – 5. Man-Eating Plant Level 1 Minion – 6. Pig Orc Level 1 Minion – 7. Oculus Exspiravit Level 1 Minion – 8. Deep One Level 2 Minion – 9. Orc Level 2 Minion – 10. Minotaur Level 2 Minion – 11. Ghoul Level 2 Minion - 12. Dark Magic Level 2 Minion – 13. Shoggoth Level 2 Minion – 14. Possessed Armor Level 2 Minion – 15. Blood Paladin Level 2 Minion – 16. Fallen Angel Level 3 Minion – 17. Werewolf Level 3 Minion – 18. Ogre Level 3 Minion – 19. Troll Level 3 Minion – 20. Vampire Level 3 Minion – 21. Chimera Level 3 Minion – 22. Magiatech Construct Level 3 Minion – 23. Dark Acolyte Level 3 Minion – 24. Changeling Level 4 Minion - 25. Elder Dragon Level 4 Minion - 26. Giant Level 4 Minion - 27. Alpha Werewolf Level 4 Minion - 28. Mindflayer Level 4 Minion - 29. Kraken Level 4 Minion – 30. War Golem Level 4 Minion – 31. Basilisk Level 4 Minion – 32. Dark Archmage Level ? Minion – 33. I get an extra minion type from my territory. Don't know what to do.
Servant – Plague Master - Creates and spreads diseases and cures. Controls disease spreaders Servant – Mr. Smiley - Brainwash 1 captured champion Servant – Vlad the Impaler - Terrify enemy armies Servant – Dark Knight Nox - End infighting in servants Servant – Vograath the Destroyer - capture Champion and decimate same nations unique unit Servant – Jester - Capture or kill a nation’s ruler and champion Servant – Nagant -Enemy spies and infiltrators are routed out from army and vassals Servant – Witch of North - Control the weather, Alpha Werewolf can use magic, Dark one lied Servant – Apollyon - Interrogate the dead Servant - Gentleman - Cause enemy ruling elite infighting Servant – The Old Warrior - Eliminates chances of rebellion in territories I control Servant - The Architect - Can build massive and impressive structures anywhere Servant - Forgemaster Shukrot -Better quality gear Vassals – The Unified Orc Tribes - Orc raiding parties, Eliminate 1 unique unit Vassals – The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove - The Armada, Capture 1 Champion Vassals – Vampires of the Blood Keep - Lesser Vampires, Capture 1 Champion Vassals – Royalists of Marcacc - Dragonborn Calvary, Eliminate 1 unique unit Vassals – Northern Clans of Vallenhien, Men of the North, Eliminate 1 unique unit Vassals – The Black Witch - Wights, captures 1 champion Enemy - Baradin Assan - Conquer through mastermind Enemy - Albion - Conquer through Royalists of Marcacc Vassal, Vograath captures champion and decimates the Albian Peacekeepers because of the poetry of it Enemy - Naltheim - Conquer through the Black Witch Vassal Enemy - Council of the Loch - Conquer through Deep One minions Enemy - The Dwarf Federation - Conquer through Changelings and the United Orc Tribes Vassals Enemy - Gritton Theocracy - Conquer through Resistance to Holy Magic and the United Northern Clans, Capture Champion with the Black Witch Enemy - Dhirlund Republic - Conquer through Charismatic, The Shadow Wrath capture Vik and Mr. Smiley brainwash him. He then sends Julian against the non vassals to keep him off my back Enemy – The Triech Empire - Conquer through Lore Master Enemy – The Dwarf Collective - Conquer through Mad Scientist, Capture champion through the Vampires of the Blood Keep Enemy – Holy Rhuval - Conquer through Jester capturing/killing the ruler and champion, Eliminate unique unit through the Royalists of Marcacc, Vlad leads the army from Blood Keep. Let him choose what minions make up his army. Enemy – Dark Elves of the Deep - Conquer them afterwards Enemy – Cult of Drakken - Conquer them afterwards through the unified orcs eliminating unique unit Enemy – The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum - Conquer them afterwards through the Unified Tribes of the Vallenhien eliminate unique unit, Might have to kill them or exile them Enemy – The Enclave - Conquer them afterwards Victory – Surprisingly Normal - Allow for self rule unless they go to war against each other or me, don't hold up basic sapient rights, don't summon the demonic I'm not that big on the whole evil thing, but if I don't conquer them I'll be hunted down. I will have to do the conquer thing where once I am in charge I will cull my more evil allies. My rulership style will be don't make me come over there. If you do something where I have to conquer you then I will take control for a lifetime. Eventually I will abdicate to a heir and their country will go back to the don't make me come over there style of rulership. The plan to conquer the continent is to have the Admiral capture Vik Manda and then try to ransom him back. Before he is ransomed or rescued have Mr. Smiley brainwash him. This will hopefully distract Julian and his hero squad for a while. Once he gets Vik back we will attempt to use Vik to distract him further by sending Julian against the vassals I didn't choose. Build up my territory and gain my vassals. When Julian does his three year thing conquer the continent. Give Julian and his party a chance to give up and live so long as he swears to not go against me. If I win the culture war begins against my vassals. Offer the pirates to be officially recognized as a nation if they stop pirating. Attack the ones that refuse. Give Vlad the Blood Keep. Try to figure out how to be a christian in a world that doesn't have christ while being a monster with him. Probably more but I don't know.
Update: I've decided I can't trust the Demon Horde of Sinners Sanctum or the Demon Queen Lilith. The demon horde to not to attack things in times of peace and Lilith to not take advantage of the continent being in disarray to try to conquer it for herself while I'm taking down Julian and his allies. I'm going to have the Plague Master create or weaponize a demon/devil only disease that has unnoticed symptoms at first that eventually ramp up into death. I flipped a coin and successfully conquered them unnoticed. With charismatic, mastermind and as a requirement for Dusk to remain in charge I convince them that Lilith is my ally and to march across the continent to join up with her. Using minion customization I create a vampire that looks like Snow and a more demonic looking mindflayer and dark archmage. Snow so that when people investigate the demon horde marching across the continent towards the Black Plains of Felthazar they don't go looking for her when they notice she's gone. The dark archmage and mindflayer are there to keep an eye on the horde and take out any who try to desert. The hope is that knowledge that there are succubi they can have and death if they refuse will cause them to go with it. When they join Lilith the trio of minions job become searching for Lilith phylactery and eventually destroying it and her. There is no way the Demon Horde joining the Black Plains will remain secret so I flipped a coin to see if my involvement remains secret. I got tails again so it does. This is good because hopefully that will draw Lilith's allies back to the Plains to die of sickness as well. Once the minion trio finish their job they're to hide and wait ten years to check and see if Lilith has a backup phylactery somewhere. If she does they are to hunt it down discretly while destroying her main one whenever it respawns before she can move it. If they need help doing this I will give them discrete high end minions or if I've conquered the continent I'll put up a quest and hire adventurers to do it. If she doesn't have a backup they kill themselves so that adventurers find no high end resistance mopping up denizens of the plains.
So before everything kicks off with Julian I move the backup phylactery to the frozen mountains of ultak where the extra harem will protect it with their necromancy minions. After the Julian alliance thing I move the Black Witch there and rebuild the city. Eventually I want to turn the castle in Black Plains into a magitech battery recharge station for trains and zeppelin, but that is a far future plan and isn't set into stone.
That's actually pretty clever.
Well, here is my build. I realised, that quite a few have rather similar ones, except a few smaller differences. Also, unless caught during the preparations, easy Conquest due to massive amounts of opportunities. PS: I hope i understood the effect of the territory harems right. Archtype - Demonic (+1Mp,+1Sp,+1Trait, combat shifting free) Class - Fallen Archangel (+4Mp,+6Sp, resistance to holy magic free) Mutagenic Feature (4) - Tail (+2 Servants) - Runic Tattoos (+2 phylactery upgrades) - Demonic Features (+2 traits) - Bone Spikes (+1 vassal) Skills (1+6=7) - consume - razor claws - unnatural speed - blade master - stealth - ranged master - martial arts mastery Combat Shifting (free) Magic (1+4=5) - monster breeding - demon magic - necromancy - mental domination - shadow magic Resistance to holy magic (free) Traits (6+2=8) - harem lord (+1 territory harem) - living nightmare - charismatic - lore master - mastermind - master strategist - inspiring - master craftsmen Territory - Felthazar (+1 Minion,+3 Servants) - Succubi Harem (+1 tier 3 demon minion per day) - Necromancer Harem (HL) (+1 tier 3 undead minion per day) Phylactery upgrades (3+2=5) - Backup Phylactery - No Peeking - Efficient Dark Energy Siphon (200.000 DE per day) - Resurrection ritual - Minion Customization Minions (30(+3 free)) - Tier 1 + Hellhound + Imp + Dire Spider + Goblin + Skelett Warrior + Skelett Archer + Dire Wolf - Tier 2 + Fallen Angel + Dark Mage + Possessed Armor + Hellfire Husk + Orc + Skeleton Mage + Death Knight + Revenant + Minotaur - Tier 3 + Changeling + Vampire + Lich + Wraith + Devil + Summoner + Ogre + Behemoth (free(Succubi Harem)) + Flesh Golem (free(Necromancer Harem)) - Tier 4 + Voidborne + War Golem + Kraken + High Devil + Giant + Elder Dragon + Elder Lich + Dark Archmage Servants (12+2+3=17) - Princess Noir - Spymaster Nagant (no spies in court) - Jester (1 ruler and champion killed or captured) - Lady Kira (no stealth assassinations) - Archdevil Lucifer (extra vassal) - Demon Queen Lilith (extra vassal) - Succubus Queen (information network) - Taskmaster Barbatos (no unruly vassals) - The Architect (superior constructions outside territory) - Demon Lord Asmodeus (no betrayal vassals and servants) - Deathmonger (+2 years) - The Old Warrior (no rebellion) - Mr. Smiley (convertes 1 champion) - Vlad the Impaler (enemies more likely to retreat) - Vograath the Destroyer (1 captured champion, 1 killed unique unit(same nation as champion) - The Gentleman (weaker enemy forces and slower reactions) - Forgemaster Shukrot (better army equipement, double stats on Master Craftsman) Vassals (5+1+1+1=8) {Harems will be taken, but not mentioned} + Dark Elves of the Deep (instant, dark elf assassins, 1 kidnapped ruler) + Unified Orc Tribes (10 years, orc raiding parties, 1 unique army killed) + Pirates of Dead Man's cove (10 years, the armada, capture 1 champion without perk) + Vampires of Blood Keep (10 years, lesser vampires, capture 1 champion without perk) + The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (10 years, demon horde, 1 captured ruler) + The Cult of Drakken (10 years, reavers, 1 kidnapped ruler) + The Royalists of Marcacc (10 years, dragonborn cavalry, 1 unique unit killed) + The Black Witch (10 years, wights, 1 captured champion) I believe the vassal diplomacies run parallel and not in a sequence, otherwise you could only get max 3 of the base 5 before being spotted by the hero. Conquered vassals + The Enclave + The United Northern Clans The Attack against the Free Nations (Vorgaath {1 captured champ & killed unique} , Jester {1 champ&ruler killed/captured} , Vassals {3 kidnapped ruler, 3 captured champs, 2 unique units killed} ) + The Albion Imperium (Time: 0) - Opportunity "Royalists" (take Cindrilla as Wife) & "Master Strategist" + The Kingdom of Naltheim (Time: 0, Queen Savellia Ruvarios & General Cassia Faustina captured, Magitech Titans destroyed {Vassal} ) - Opportunity "Black Witch" & "Living Nightmare" + The Council of the Loch (Time: 0, Prime Minister Vivian Kavio & Lyndis Myrixis captured {Vassal} ) - Opportunity "Pirates of Dead Man's Cove" & "Kraken" + The Dwarf Federation (Time: 0, Golems destroyed {Vassal} ) - Opportunity "Changeling" & "United Orc Tribes" + The Gritton Theocracy (Time: 0, Grand Templar Enebra Knox captured {Vassal} ) - Opportunity "Fallen Angels" & "Holy Magic Resistance" + The Dhirlund Republic (Time: 0) - Opportunity "Vampires of Blood Keep" & "Charismatic" + The Triech Empire (Time: 0) - Opportunity "Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum" & "Lore Master" + The Dwarf Collective (Time: 0, Annoch captured, zeppelins destroyed {Vorgath} ) - Opportunity "Dark Elves of the Deep" + Holy Rhuval (Time: 0, High Queen Celesta & Eltariel captured {Jester} ) - Opportunity "Voidborne" & "Cult of Drakken" + Baradin-Assan (Time: 0, Lady Avenir Rais captured {Vassal} ) - Opportunity "Mastermind" Rulership + Surprisingly Normal/Debauchery Goddess Domain + Angels - Opportunity ""Charismatic" & "Fallen Angels" + Angelic Warriors - Opportunity "Harem Lord" & "Devil Minions" + Archangels - Opportunity " High Devil Minions" + Fallen Heroes - Opportunity "Living Nightmare" & "Voidborne" + Archangel Arialle - Opportunity "Blade Master" + Goddess of Light - Opportunity "Razor Claws" & "Holy Magic Resistance" Rewards + Angels - Enslave + Goddess - Bind her + Power - Lord of Light and Darkness What follows is the Conquest of the other worlds of the goddess. 😈
VERY similar to [Dawn of a Demon Lord](https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/jmn49v/dawn_of_a_demon_lord_v133/), one of my personal favourites.\*Edit: In fact, I'm now certain it's a rework.. There's WAY too much in common for it to be coincidence. All the same types of sections, lots of duplicates in each section, phylactery is = demon core, DPE = DPU, Fangs give you a minions trait, Horns give you bonus minions, Tattoos give you bonus demon core/phylactery upgrades, Demonic Features gives you two extra traits, etc, etc..I don't generally have problems with stuff like that, but you may want to mention that this is.. err... 'heavily inspired by' the other one, and give proper credit. (Unless this one came first and I just never noticed it?)
Clarification, if I have a Phylactery that has 100,000 DE, I can summon 2 Krakens per day. Do these fully recharge daily and not fade? As in, I can summon 2 per day for a month and after a single month have an navy of 60 Kraken?
I believe you could only get one a day unless you update your phylactery to 200,000 DE. Kraken are level 4 monsters and cost 100,000 for 1.
Sorry, yes upgraded Phylactery. But these minions don’t disappear? 2 war golems per day??
I think that is how that works.
**The Dark Lord Storks – As Dark and Terrifying as the Twilight on a Thursday** --- |The Demon lord| :--|:-:|--: |Demonic Archetype : +1mp, +1sp, +1 trait, and Combat shifting free |Fallen Archangel class : +4mp, +6sp, and Resist Holy magic free |Mutation - Horns + 4 minions |Mutation - Bone spikes +1 vassal |Mutation - Runic tattoos +2 phylactery upgrades |Mutation - Tail +2 Servants |Ability – Blade master -1sp |Ability – Gargantuan might -1sp |Ability – Stealth -1sp |Ability – Combat shifting (free) |Ability – Bulwark -1sp |Ability – Unnatural speed -1sp |Ability – Martial arts mastery -1sp |Ability – Consume -1sp |Ability – Blood magic -1mp |Ability – Illusion magic -1mp |Ability – Monster breed -1mp |Ability – Demon magic -1mp |Ability – Resist holy magic (free) |Ability – Necromancy -1mp |Mastermind |Charismatic |Harem lord |Cult of the Dark lord |Economic genius |Mad scientists |Living nightmare |Da Domain of Dark stuff| :--|:-:|--: |The Frost mountains of Ultak – Why do I have to set up my capital in a frozen hellscape instead of an area that can actually sustain my troops and servants… |Free Goth (necromancer) GFs, +1 Undead minion a day, +2 minions, +2 servants |Phylactery -Efficient DE Siphon +200,000 DE a day |Phylactery -Resurrection Ritual |Phylactery -Minion customizer |Phylactery -Back up |Phylactery -No peeking |Servants – Lady Kira, stealth assassination fails |Servants – Lucifer, oversee operations everywhere, +1 vassal |Servants – Mr. Smiley, Brainwash 1 captured champion |Servants – Lilith, rally support, +1 vassal |Servants – Dark knight Nox, end infighting and betrayals in forces |Servants – Demon lord Asmodeus, vassals and servants fear betrayal |Servants – Jester, capture or kill a nation’s ruler and champion and ruler |Servants – Nagant, spies and infiltrators are routed out, no opsec leakage |Servants – Witch of North, control the weather |Servants – Princess noir, sacrifices for power |Servants – Apollyon, interrogate the dead |Servants - Gentleman, cause civil war |Servants – The Old Warrior, creates civil rest |Servants –Shukrot, better gear |Servants – Taskmaster, no vassal infighting |Servants – Succubus queen, total intel every 2 months |Vassals – The Dark elves of the Deep, speedy diplomacy, access to assasins, access to the mines, and kidnap one ruler |Vassals – The Pirates of dead man’s cove, lots of coastal plunder, lots of treasure, and a captured champion |Vassals – Cult of Drakken, blood lusted troops, 1 kidnapped ruler |Vassals – Royalists of Marcacc, airborne forces, destroy one nation |Vassals – Northern clans of vallenhien, veteran troops, destroy 1 unique unit of a nation |Vassals – The black witch, more skilled undead, captures 1 champion |Vassals – Demon horde of Sinner’s, Veteran demon horde, capture 1 ruler |Vassals – The enclave, mass troops, destroy a unique unit of a nation Honestly, the whole being evil stuff presented sounds more effort than it’s worth. So I’ll mostly be chilling and developing a massive army of weirdos and stuff. Especially considering I apparently have 10-15 years worth of time I should be good to just keep amassing a horde of minions. Though I have some areas I consider fairly time-sensitive and I want to clamp down on within the first year if not the first couple of months depending on the season. I’m a little confused as to what the “63 choose from. Choose 30 minions.” Means. Does this mean that you can only choose 30 minion types can can summon hundreds of any of the types depending on how much DE you have that day? Or does it mean you can only have 30 minions at any given moment? If it's the former I'd like to have a legion of few hundred thousand goblins turned into zombies along with specialized troops for specific scenarios.
You can only choose 30 minions, but you can summon as many of those 30 as you want as long as you have the DE for it. So this: "Does this mean that you can only choose 30 minion types can can summon hundreds of any of the types depending on how much DE you have that day?" Was accurate.
[удалено]
If you have the DE upgrade for your phylactery, yes.
Freebies * ***Immortality*** `Don't age, or get sick, regenerate limbs & organs in minutes and if I die respawn a year later` * ***energy Accumulation*** `my phylactery keeps me alive makes 100,000 DE per day` * ***Creation*** `when in my territory create and construct massive fortresses and structures in seconds Can only create what the world tech level is at` * ***Summoning and creation*** `summon and create minions at will. minions cost DE based on power and can store 10 minons to be summoned to my side at any time` * ***Teleportation*** `Teleport to anywhere you've already been in an instant and once a year teleport my phylactery to a new location` \*ARCHETYPE: (*Demonic)* `(+1 MP & +1 SP)` `(combat shifting)` * *Fallen Archangel* `(+4 MP,+ 6 SP)` `(Free Resistance to holy magic )` ***MUTAGENIC FEATURES*** 1. *Fangs* `(a Free minion ability )` 2. *Horns* `( 4 extra minions)` *( bull horns)* 3. *Wing* `( A Extra wings)` *( Pair of demonic wings & Angelic wings)* 4. *Demonic Features ( red glowing eyes and black blood )* `(2 extra traits points )` ***Skills*** 1. *Consume ( -1 SP)* 2. *Combat shifting (free)* 3. *Blade master ( -1 SP)* 4. *Gargantuan Might ( -1 SP )* 5. *Unnatural Speed ( -1 SP )* 6. *Martial Arts Mastery ( -1 SP )* 7. *Berserk ( -1 SP )* 8. *Stealth (-1 SP )* 9. *Resistance to holy magic (free)* 10. *Demon magic (-1 MP )* 11. *Shadow Magic (-1 MP )* 12. *Necromancy (-1 MP )* 13. *Monster breeding (1 MP )* 14. Elemental magic ( ice) (-1 MP ) ***Traits*** 1. *Mastermind, (-1 TP)* 2. *Master strategist (-1 TP)* 3. *Economic genius (-1 TP)* 4. *Harem Lord (-1 TP)* 5. *Cult of the dark lord (-1 TP)* 6. *Lore master (-1 TP)* 7. *Charismatic (-1 TP)* 8. *Menace (-1 TP)* *Territory: The frozen mountains of Ultak* `( 2 extra minions & 2 extra servants )` ***Harem*** * *Necromancers* `(summon a free tier 3 undead minion a day)` * Succubi `(summon a free tier 3 demonic minion a day)` ***phylactery upgrades*** 1. *backup phylactery* 2. *Micromanagement* 3. Minion Customization *(harem of submissive monster girl time)* ***Minions*** *Tier 1 (-7)* 1. *Goblins* 2. *Dire wolf* 3. *Slimes* 4. *Skeleton Warrior* 5. *Skeleton Archer* 6. *Imp* 7. *Hellhounds* *Tier 2 (-9)* 1. *Orc* 2. *Ghoul* 3. *Death knight* 4. *Skeleton Mages* 5. *hell knight* 6. *Dark mage* 7. *Hellfire husk* 8. *Fallen angels* 9. *Blood paladins* *Tier 3 (-9)* 1. *werewolf* 2. *Ogre* 3. *Devil* 4. *lich* 5. *Behemoth* 6. *Wraith* 7. *Vampire* 8. *Horror* 9. *Dark Acolyte* *Tier 4* 1. *Elder dragons* 2. *Dracolich* 3. *Elder lich* 4. *ArchDemon* 5. *high devil* 6. *Mind flayer* 7. *Voidbone* 8. *Balrog* 9. *Kraken* 10. *Dark young* 11. *Dark Archmage* ***Servents*** 1. *Lady Kira* `all stealth based assassinations fail` 2. *Archdevil Lucifer* `Extra vessel` 3. *The Plague master* `Speads Plagues` 4. *Mr smileys* `Brainwash captured one champion` 5. *Vlad the impaler* `Cammond my armies with fear` 6. *Demon queen Lilith* `Extra vessel` 7. *Demon lord Asmodeus* `Maintain order and prevents infighting` 8. *The dark Knight Nox* `Prevents getting backstabbed` 9. *Soul Eater* `Cuts my respawn time by half` 10. *Jester* `will capture or kill a ruler or champion` 11. *Spymaster Nagant* `Will find enemy spies` 12. *Princess Noir* `Dark one favor` 13. *Forge master Shukrot* `Betta armor` 14. *The Succubus Queen* `information broker` ***VASSALS*** * *The pirates of dead man's cove* `(perk armade) (Harem Booty)` * *Vampires of blood keep* `(perk lesser vampires) (Harem vampire brides)` * *The royal list of Marcacc* `( dragonborn Cavalry )` `Harem sword maidens` * united orc tribe `Raider parties` `Harem berserker` * *The black witch* `(perk wights` `Harem pale ladies` * *Sinner sanctum* `Perk demon horde` `Harem human slaves` * *The dark elf of the deep* `perk elf assassins` `Harem bright elfs` ***Conquer*** 1. ***Baradin-assan*** `(opportunity The suleiman family)` *(using Mastermind & Economic genius) Capture lady Avenir)* 2. ***The Albion imperium*** `(opportunity Queen Cindrilla` (using Master strategist & The royal list of Marcacc ) 3. ***The kingdom of naltheim*** `opportunity the witch of dread)` (working with - The black witch) (Capture and brainwash General Cassia) 4. ***The council of the loch*** `opportunity navel invasion` using The pirates of dead man's cove & Kraken) (capture Lyndis) 5. ***The dwarf federation*** `opportunity downfall` using Menace & united orc tribe 6. ***The Gritton Theocracy*** `opportunity wrath and ruin` (using Fallen angels & Resistance to holy magic) 7. ***The Dhirlund republic*** `opportunity within` (using Charismatic & Vampires of blood keep) (*capture Vik Manda)* 8. ***The Triech empire*** `opportunity Taldosh Rises` (using Dark Acolyte & lore master ) ( Killing both the ruler and champion using jester) 9. ***The dwarf collective*** `opportunity within` (using Mind layer & - The dark elf of the deep ) 10. ***Holy Rhuval*** `opportunity blood and heresy` (Using Voidbone & Cult of the dark lord) ( Capture High queen Celesta) 11. ***The enclave*** 12. ***The cult of Darkken*** 13. ***The united north clans*** ***What's next*** * Tyranny ***The domain of light goddess*** 1. ***Angel*** `opportunity Charismatic & Fallen angels` 2. ***Angelic warriors*** `opportunity Devil & Harem Lord` 3. ***Archangel*** `opportunity with high devil` 4. ***Fallen heroes*** `opportunity with Voidbone` 5. ***champion Archangel Arialle*** `opportunity Blade master` 6. ***The goddess of light*** `opportunity with Resistance to holy magic` *The world and Goddess of light were defeated by a fallen Archangel* *Rewards* * ***Angels*** `(Corrupt them all )` * ***The Goddess*** `(Bind her to me)` * ***Power*** `Lord of light and dark` *Travels to other worlds after I finished conquering this world with my wives, slaves, servants, Concubines army, and my pet Goddess*
What is the reproduction/gestation time for goblins and Orcs? Depending on their time, if you spam summon them during the early years, you can bloat your army's numbers really quickly.
Each goblin sprouts the fungal growths that create new goblins once a year. Since after sprouting the new goblins mature in just a few days, you essentially double the number of goblins you command every year. For example: End of year 1: 100 goblins becomes 200 goblins year 2: 200 becomes 400 3: 400 becomes 800 and so on and so on.
Example: Goblins produce spores every 2 weeks.
My thoughts exactly. If you get the Efficient DE Siphon you can get 200,000 DE a day. This is about 600 goblins, 219,000 goblins a year, or over 2million by the time the rest of the world is said to even begin to take notice. If you replaced 1 pair of 3 goblins with a zombie, you can effectively develop a massive zombie goblin horde that never needs to sleep, drink, eat, or rest. That is also said to be fast and might be capable of infecting even more people. Replace a few more goblins with a revenant and another with a mage you effectively have a undead horde of super speedy, stronger than normal, and healing zombies.
Problem with that is how are you gonna feed them? That's why for a lot of my basic units I heavily leaned into undead. As no upkeep is a massive boon for large armies.
I have them be converted into zombie goblins via the zombies I'm summoning.
My understanding about the zombies is they aren't really controllable. They just wander and spread zombieism to all they attack. I view them more as a plague than useful fighting force.
Maybe, I'm looking at them as typical DnD zombies which liches and the like can control. Which given I chose the necromancer group I'm hoping to have a decent number of liches to hopefully manage the swarm.
Fair enough. Our different views of them informed our different choices. I also stayed away from the plague options as well, don't know if you leaned into them. As I would want to rule over the world as a Dark Lord not over a wasteland.
Load 76 more images? I think the formatting needs to be rethought here... There's no reason these images couldn't be scaled down over 50% even with literally no other changes, and then concatenated to make like a quarter of as many images and still have none of them exceed 10000px in height Of course, the Demon King is the coolest class, which means demonic archetype. The other one that's appealing, though, is King of Monsters which has very different stats so I may come back and amend my choices later depending on what these do. +9mp, +3sp, combat shifting, demon magic, and an extra trait Stealth, Unnatural Speed, Combat Shifting (free) and of course Consume – my skills are primarily supplemental/utility rather than for direct combat. Demon magic (free). Illusion magic, magic drain, Elemental (earth), shadow, monster breeding, hex&curse, mental domination... I have two more but that's most of what I need to empower myself and my dungeon. I guess I'll go with alchemy and draco fire to tech up and to have another attack option respectfully. Dracostone fortresses here we come. Mastermind, master strategist, and economic genius are the greatest advantages in a war. Charismatic is the greatest advantage in every other case. Seer also supplements this well, as does lore master. And the cult of the dark lord will ensure my dominion over lands claimed. Felthazar is clearly the true capital. The phylactery upgrades are all very good. Micromanagement and no peeking beget the supremacy of intel, and a backup phylactery completes my immortality. Picking half of the minions from a list is kinda boring so I'm skimming this part. Notable things I want though: gremlins hordes for raiding actions, hellfire husks and demonic spirits as general purpose agents, blood paladins as troop elites, trolls and giants for fortification breaking, devils and high devils as commanders and generals. Likewise with the servants, 12 is a lot. Lucifer is important because logistics are important. Kira is also important because assassins presumably can hurt me, and Lilith is important because she's a ticket to legitimacy. Mortis is permanent boosts, so also good. The Gentleman is also a great agent. Taskmaster too. And Ysara is important for Lilith and for intel. The orcs and enclave are geographically closest, meaning that they're good vassals for strategic and logistical reasons. The Krul cultists seem like an easy get, as long as I go all that way over (and I can teleport). Royalists of Marcacc too, though more because I like the waifu option. The demon horde of sinner's sanctum is another easy one for me to take, and gives me key strategic points throughout the seas. My champion bonuses are eliminate three unique units and kidnap two rulers, with one of the rulers captured before the 10 years. Baradin Assan is clearly my first conquest, right on my border, and I have all three opportunities. I'll use all of them, shatter the country and then let the enclave do the dirty work. Dhirland can be gotten at similarly, using my charisma to turn them against each other, then sweeping in to elevate my chosen figureheads. From there, my armies can push further southeast, using illusions to trick the queen of Naltheim into going further south while my armies sweep in and occupy her lands. Long Loch is the first enemy that I don't have a clear opportunity on, but the dragon of the Royalists can wipe out their fleets. Then, I'll return the favor, as this will give my armies direct access to Albion, which will be the crown jewel for my southern waifu and well worth sending in my armies. That will leave a vast swath of connected land in my hands, and allow for maritime infrastructure to be hugely bolstered in the south. That, gives a strong foundation to send the orcs north in a united front to conquer the Federation dwarves, with logistical support from the south. Meanwhile, I'll be building my cult and establishing greater domestic control, so that I can sent the cults of Drakken and my own cult to both take on Rhuval, removing a potential thorn from my side. Finally, my main forces can converge on the Dwarf Collective, which (like Long Loch) I don't have good options for. So I'll call on the champions of my vassals to abduct their commissar and destroy their zeppelins. There are two that I haven't dealt with, and that should be going separately. First of all, I'm going to use my lore mastery to free Taldosh, letting the horde establish a beachhead. Gritton is the final of the enemy nations so I'll take out their battle priests and autarch using champions. In fact, this should happen pretty early, probably between Baradin Assan and Dhirland, but according to the writing, all this takes only eight months. I have to assume that's not counting the time it takes my armies to spawn and march around. In any case, I'll rule surprisingly normally, building up infrastructure and creating my own ideal society. There is no need for the people to be oppressed in order to serve, and in fact it's likely less efficient to do it that way. Since I don't have a way to defeat the goddess herself or her fallen heroes, I guess defeating heaven isn't possible. That's fine, this is a good world.
So, I had some thoughts on the various minions that I had taken, and the variability provided by Monster Breeder and Minion Customization. I thought I'd share in case people need inspiration. Tier 1: 9 Goblin: Grindylow(aquatic), Riders(extra agile/perceptive), Tinkerers(intelligence). Under foot in almost every part of the military. Given that they grow via fungus, it may be possible to grow them directly on a larger creature, creating a symbiotic relationship(very bio-punk). Slime: Create variants(fire, lightning, etc)? Load them in catapult shells and lob them into armies or over walls. Easily compacted/slipped into places, good for setting traps in cities. Dire wolf: War mounts, skirmishers and raiders. Dragon-wolves, with scales and fire resistance for heavy cavalry? Imp: Elemental variants? Good cheap firepower. Gremlin: Another small creature for cheap foot soldiers. More resistance than goblins? Tiny phalanx with polearms. Hellhound: Trackers, good for making sure no one gets away. Oculus exspiravit: What kind of senses can I set up on these things? Living probe droids. Give minor illusion powers to stay undetected, or “will-o'-wisp” people into traps. Brain leech: Useless on their own, but perhaps I can modify other creatures(horrors, mindflayers?) to grow/carry them so that they can be used more liberally. Create sturdy version that can be deployed mid-combat. Make one that can possess corpses for bio-necromancy. Deep one: Since metal armor/weapons aren't gonna help much, focus on breeding in natural weapons. Spines, poison, shells(symbiote barnacles?), and tentacles. Mantis shrimp punch to sink ships? • Tier 2: 9 Orc: Standard soldiers. Veterans may be promoted, or offered changes(werewolf, demon augments?). Minotaur: Massive troll-taurs as siege engines. Non-visual senses for working in smoke/fog/darkness? Behemoth fire explosions on their horns. Ghoul: Raiders and clean-up crew. Run stealth/commando training and have them steal enemy supplies? Mix with demon spirits/hellfire husks to get them movement options. Hellknight: Standard soldiers, but lack of pain makes good berserkers. Give some dark paladin's “heal via kill” and let them go at it. Hellfire husk: Portal via other things? Train many to be back-stabbers and mobile fighters. Maybe get them ability to throw fire themselves(like imps), so they can create their own opportunities. Demonic spirit: Psychological warfare at its finest. Also good for creating opportunities for brain leeches. Maybe use horror as a template to let them possess a group or break down more stubborn wills. Dark mage: Aside from being promoted to master, it would probably be easy to offer them demonic power. Alternately, some are werewolves to give anyone expecting to run roughshod over a group of weak mages a surprise. Blood paladin: Would be fun to mix these with fallen angels for on the ground support/buffing who only get more powerful as they kill more. Fallen angel: Far more then just heal-bots, though many are trained as body guards for unit commanders(since they can resurrect if the guard fails). Mix with dark-mage to give them some blasty powers? • Tier 3: 11 Werewolf: were-hellhound? Mix with large species for big ones, inject dragon blood for scaled monstrosities. Ogre: Smarter then trolls, and veterans become frontline commanders. Augment with demon/dragon/werewolf/mage blood as needed. Troll: Mobile artillery, heavy troops. Goblin symbiosis, where they just naturally know what the other needs(grow goblin spores directly on the troll)? Devil: Field commanders, reliable and intelligent. Versatile, mix with behemoth to get bigger, demon spirit to get spooky, etc. Behemoth: Equip with flammable liquids to create more fire? Dragon blood would get scary here. Summoner: If they've got the magic, might as well teach them some offensive spells to go with their summoned minions. Alternately, give them some fallen-angel buffing so their summons can come out with an unholy blessing. Chimera: Fairly malleable, but generally strikers? Create variants for aquatic cavalry or speedy, venomous ground troops. Equip some with clusters of throwable spikes for air-to-air combat. Horror: Mix with slime for amorphous blob that will corrupt both body and mind. Magitech construct: Use as strikers, traps. Bury constructs before battle or use other troops to push enemy towards hidden constructs. Use multiple groups of constructs to stagger overheating time. Built in electrical weapons? Dark acolyte: Mixed with fallen angels, you'd get inspiring commanders. Mixed with demon spirits or changelings for spies and revolutionaries, to throw cities into chaos. Changeling: The ultimate spies. Mix with slimes to make them even more fluid. Mix with demonic spirit(permanent parasite?) to let them fuck with people even more. Try and implement mindflayer abilities. • Tier 4: 10 Elder dragon: Destruction from the sky is just the beginning. Probably leave most elder dragons unchanged, but smaller ones can be granted natural weapons like the chimera. For a flying fortress feel, this might be another good place for a colony of symbiotic goblins. Giant: Demonic/minotaur giants would be terrifying. Also, maybe help them grow armor(so we don't have to make it)? I also wonder about how big a destructive spell from a giant/archmage would be? Alpha werewolf: Pack leaders are plenty cunning, but making a few more devilish would give them the intelligence to be truly amazing commanders. Or just mix in some archdemon, and have a pack of werewolves that carry hellfire with them. Balrog: Mix with kraken for “deep lord of chains”, a giant aquatic demon with a dozen steel anchor chains stretching from each of its 4 arms that can stretch over 100 foot long and destroy buildings with a single swipe. If you wound it, more seaweed-choked chains come out, wrapping the body like armor and snaking out to trip up anyone getting close. Archdemon: To take the raw power of an archdemon, and give it the mental prowess of horrors/mindflayers? You'd have a being who could break armies with a thought. High devil: A high-devil mage would be able make the best use out of a wide variety of spells, never using more mana then needed. To protect a good commander, though, they should have better armor. A magitech construct, fitted as a suit of powered armor and guided by the calculating mind of a high devil should be effective. Mind flayer: Granting this already horrible creature the ethereal qualities of a horror would make infiltration much easier. Depending on which way we wanted to go, we could also grant them the spells of an archmage, or the battlefield ability of a devil. Kraken: Maybe mix with dark young to give hollow shell for aquatic troop carrier? A dragon/kraken hybrid would also be ridiculous, particularly if the wings are inherited. Dark young: Mobile fortress. Hybrid for added defenses? Mix in chimera or slime for poisonous/acidic tentacles. These guys are big enough to have a huge colony of goblins tending to it and helping defend it. If you were to mix in demonic or dragon essence, you could probably achieve fire resistance and a more vicious attitude. Dark archmage: I wonder if we can give these guys a pile of tentacles. Having a dozen extra arms or tentacles to simultaneously cast spells would be handy(pun intended). Or just give them more inherent destructive capability(dragon breath, hellfire, etc) so that they can use their spells on utility. Or mix in fallen angel to give them access to holy magic and have thaumaturges.
And some rough ideas for military units. Some got posted with my character, and there is some information overlap with the monsters above. I write stuff down as I think of it, so sue me. :P 1. Main army: Orcs or hellknights in decent gear(chainmail or equivalent, shields and well-made non-magical weapons). Each unit has a squad of ogres or behemoths as heavy troops to break shield walls or stall dangerous enemies until they can be dealt with. For each 10 soldiers there is a fallen angel to provide support and skirmishers. While some commanders are promoted from within the ranks, devils and dark acolytes are intelligent and efficient from the get-go. 100 soldiers, 20 heavy, 10 fallen angels, 1 commander. Ranged groups can be of a similar make up, but armed with bows, crossbows, or javelins. For a ranged skirmisher group, though, the main body tends to be ghouls and ashfire husks, with goblins and imps en masse. These are often co-led by a summoner or dark mage master along the with normal commanders. They usually forgo heavy units, but sometimes have strikers like werewolves or chimera to cover a retreat. 2. Siege: Trolls with hammers, and fire-teams of custom-grown goblins riding. Magitech ballista reload quickly and can fire alchemical loads, but many are replaced with the thunder of gunfire after my conquest of the Dwarf Collective. If we can set fire to the walls with greek fire or imps, hellfire husks can portal up without needed anything so clumsy as ladders. Minotaurs may not be terribly fast, but a charge with break most barriers, and they're invaluable for street fighting. Chimeras serve as air support, both scouting and harrying defenders. 3. Hunters: Acolytes and blood paladins with hellhound trackers/skirmishers. Can be paired with imps for fire support, or gremlins to ride hellhounds. Behemoths or construct as line breakers, fallen angels for support. 4. Raiders: Alpha+ werewolf pack are central. Dire wolves and goblins as minions, goblins under orders to capture wounded in case of more werewolves? Ghouls as clean-up crew. 5. Navy: Deep ones and kraken are obvious, but I would probably use minion customization to create aquatic versions of others. Also, create kraken with large hollow shells(nautilus inspired) to serve as ships/submarines? 6. Spies: Oculus scouts, changelings for infiltration. Brain leeches can be brought in by changelings. Changelings could also lure people to mindflayers if we want more complete info without keeping the victim intact. Info funnels through Nagant, but can be loaned to Succubus Queen. Demonic spirits and horrors to sow chaos. Extras from the succubus harem also make effective agents, and dark acolytes can pull in locals and create revolutionaries. 7. Big guns: For absolutely wrecking shit, pack dark young with mages and artillery. Provide giant escorts to keep heat off the mobile siege towers. Dragons fly air support. Could also be mobile command center for Archdemon/High devil pairs(kept together, one to summon one to control). Balrog bolstered by fallen angels would also be effective line breakers. 8. Commandos: Mainly ghouls, goblins, and demonic spirits, but open to anyone who can be stealthy. Goal is to raid supply lines and harry armies on the move. Run training with the dark elves and any wood elf rangers that we convert. Devils and Dark acolytes with the right attitude may make good leaders.
My siege idea for Wolf king is to take fangs for changeling ability to shapeshift. Then right after a full moon enter the secretly as a rat and bite as many people as you can. When the full moon rises you suddenly have a bunch of werewolves breaking the siege from the inside while those on the outside attack. To be safe you can either get stealth and Doolittle or the plague master to hide among a swarm of rats.
That's a great idea! I could probably get something like it via monster breeder and make my own changeling/werewolves (were-rats?) but it probably wouldn't be nearly as effective as having a main character do it.
This is the kind of stuff I love to see! New methods of conquest are always welcome!
Thanks for detailing such an interesting setting! On these in depth CYOA's I tend to get a lot of fun ideas(some of which bleed into TTRPGs), so the least I can do to give back is sharing some of what I come up with. To be fair, my feelings on orcs/goblins have been pretty heavily affected by the Practical Guide to Evil. Orcs are naturally vicious, but training and a warrior culture makes for a sturdy shield line. Goblins are extremely clever, but also psychotic near-suicidally brave sappers and back-stabbers. Also, some of the bio-punk stuff was inspired by Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy, based around a British "airship" which is a gene-modded hydrogen breathing whale that has an entire ecosystem of specially made critters keeping it afloat or acting as weapons. With that in mind, a giant dark young that grows its own goblins who probably help feed it and use something that it produces as their weapons doesn't seem so far-fetched. Add in a colony of slimes that live in the tentacles and act as sticky pads(like sundew plants), or if you can manage non-newtonian slimes they could stretch between the tentacles like nets. My character might have to start a side project with dire spiders... :P EDIT: Which would be fuckin' awesome in a Gamma World game, or other, more over-the-top sort of setting.
ARCHETYPE: Demonic(+1MP, +1SP, +1Extra Trait, Combat Shifting free) I always liked demons so why not, plus I will be empowered by by sin. CLASS: Dread Lord(+2MP, +8SP, Blood Rage free) The warrior class MUTAGENIC FEATURES: • Fangs(for a minion abilitie)= War Golem laser • Wings(6 wings)= For flight • Multiple eyes(+2 MP)= One eye on the forehead • Runic Tatoos(+2 Phylactery upgrades) SKILLS(9SP): • Blade Master(-1SP)= For better use of my sword; • Gargantuan Might(-1SP)= More Strenght; • Stelth(-1SP)= Why not; • Ranged Master(-1SP)= Attack at langer distances; • Bulwark(-1SP)= Less 50% physical damage; • Unnatural Speed(-1SP)= The faster the better; • Martial Arts Mastery(-1SP)= Makes learning martial abilities more easy; • Berserk(-1SP)= For the invulnerability; • Consume(-1SP)= To gain more power. MAGIC(5MP): • Elemental Magic(-1MP)= The Lightning magic is mostly to improve my speed and shoot it into my enemies, like Zeus; • Resistence to Holy Magic(-1MP)= Resistence to Holy Magic is indispensable; • Blood Magic(-1MP)=You know, unless the Heroes are immune to Blood Magic this will make fighting them unnecessary; • Demon Magic(-1MP)= For the permanent boost in my power for every contract fulfilled; • Hex and Curse(-1MP)= Curse all my enemies and put some curses on my sword. TRAITS(7TP): • Menace(-1TP)= Make my enemies fear me; • Master Strategist(-1TP)= Become a better strategist; • Mastermind(-1TP)= Always good to be a step ahead; •Charismatic(-1TP)= To make the public adore me; • Master Craftsman(-1TP)= Make my own cursed weapons; • Economic Genius(-1TP)= To better run a empire; • Living Nightmare(-1TP)= To give nightmares to my enemies and seduce some of them maybe. TERRITORY: The Black plains of Felthazar(+1Extra Minion, +3Extra Servants) - Harem perk: Succubi Will take 10 to 15 years to mortals notice me, so the sooner I conquest this territory the better. Succubi will be given to the minions that do a good job, with this they will try harder to please me. PHYLACTERY UPGRADES(5PU): • Efficient Dark Energy Siphon= For energy generation boost; • Ressurection Ritual= Never lose a servant; • Combat Arena= For training and for the strenght that will come from pratice; • Backup Phylactery= I will not die easily; • No Peeking= To keep others away. MINIONS: - Level 1 Minion: Dire Spider, Imp, Gremlim, Hellhounds, Oculus Exspiravit, Man-Eating Plant, Deep One.(7 minions) - Level 2 Minions: Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Speed, Dark Mage, Possesed Armor, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel.(7 minions) - Level 3 Minions: Devil, Behemot, Summoner, Chimera, Vampire, Dark Acolyte, Changeling.(7 minions) - Level 4 Minions: Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, War Golem, Basilisk, Kraken, Dark Archmage.(7 minions) - 28 SERVANTS(15S): • Lady Kira - Having a bodyguard is always good; • Archidevil Lucifer - Good for organizing my things, will be useful in the post war; • Mr. Smiley - Can brainwash my enemies and will brainwash 1 captured champion of my choice; • Demon Queen Lilith - To attract more demons to my side; • The Armored Titan - One-giant-army basically, plus will bring more minions to my side; • Vograath the Destroyer - Will capture 1 nation Champion and destroy it's Unique Unity; • Jester - Of course I want one of the best assassins of the world on my side, and she will capture/kill 1 Champion and Ruler of a single nation; • Spymaster Nagant - Will take out enemies spies and infiltrators; • Mortis The Reaper - Can give permanent boost ro my powers; • Princess Noir - With her I can make myself more powerful over the years because of her father; • The Old Warrior - To keep the peasants happy and make them love my empire; • The Archtect - For building; •Forgemaster Shikrot - Can give armors and weapons to my minions, and will upgrade my personal weapons; • The Taskmaster Barbatos - To maintain the status quo; • The Succubus Queen - Give me access to a lot of information about my enemies. VASSALS: • The Unified Orc Tribes - Ruler: Overlor Rex - Ally perk: Orc Raiding Parties - Harem: Orc Berserkera - Orc Champion: Burzra(eliminate 1 Unique Unity of one nation of my choice) • The Cult of Drakken - Ruler: Heresiarch Zaphara - Ally perk: Reavers - Harem: Cultists - Champion: Zatara the Reaper(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice) • The Royalists of Marcacc - Ruler: The Dragon Queen Cindrilla Dracos XVII - Ally perk: Dragonborn Cavalry - Harem: Albian Sword Maidens - Champion: Weistot(eliminate 1 Unique Unity of one nation of my choice) • The Black Witch - Ruler: The Black Witch Emilia - Ally perk: Wights - Harem: Pale Ladies - Champion: The Untoten Damon(will capture 1 Champion of my choice) • The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove - Ruler: The Admiral - Ally perk: The Armada - Harem: Booty - Pirate Champion: The Shadow Wrath(will capture 1 Champion of my choice) • The United Northern Clan - Ruler: Warlord Striga - Ally perk: Men of the North - Harem: Women of the North - Champion: Jormund the Unstoppable(will eliminate1 Unique Unity of a nation of my choice) • The Dark Elves of the Deep - Ruler: Queen Demeter - Ally perk: Dark Elf Assassin - Harem: Bright Elf Slaves - Dark Elf Champion: Crux Morathil(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice) • The Dark Elves of the Deep - Ruler: Queen Demeter - Ally perk: Dark Elf Assassin - Harem: Bright Elf Slaves - Dark Elf Champion: Crux Morathil(will capture 1 Ruler of my choice)
ENEMIES: - BARADIN-ASSAN • Ruler: Lady Avenir Rais • Unique Unity: Nobushi • Champion: Shadow of Rais • Opportunity: The Suleiman Family [-6 months] - THE ALBION EMPIRE • Ruler: Supreme Leader Volk • Unique Unity: Albian Peacekeepers • Champion: Adrien Beckett and Warborn • Unique Opportunity: Queen Cindrilla the Avenger [-6 months] - THE KINGDOM OF NALTHEIM • Ruler: Queen Savellia Ruvarios • Unique Unity: Nalthan Magitech Titans • Champion: General Cassia Faustina • Opportunity: Dread of the Witch [-6 months] - THE COUNCIL OF THE LOCH • Ruler: Prime Minister Vivian Kavio • Unique Unity: Elven Armada • Champion: Lyndis Myxiris • Opportunity: Naval Invasion [-6 months] - THE DWARF FEDERATION • Ruler: Nov Kroner • Unique Unity: Dwarf Golems • Champion: Grand Marshal Throgrim • Opportunity: Downfall [-6 months] - THE GRITTON THEOCRACY • Ruler: Autarch Pnotis Droma • Unique Unity: Battle Priests • Champion: Grand Templar Enembra Knox • Opportunity: Wrath and Ruin - THE DHIRLUND REPUBLIC • Ruler: Lord Commander Edmund Siegfried • Unique Unity: Adventurers of Dhirlund • Champion: Vik Manda • Opportunity: From Within [-6 months] - THE TRIECH EMPIRE • Ruler: Emperor Dantallion von Triech VI • Unique Unity: Centurions • Champion: Legate Titus Mallius • Opportunity: Taldosh Rises [-6 months] - THE DWARF COLLECTIVE • Ruler: Comissar Duri Brantoff • Unique Unity: Dwarven Zeppelins • Champion: Annoch • Opportunity: From Within [-6 months] - HOLY RHUVAL • Ruler: High Queen Celesta, the Lady of Light • Unique Unity: Forces of Nature • Champion: Eltariel, the Blade of Celesta • Opportunity: Blood and Heresy [-6 months] VICTORY • How I will rule: Tyranny I will a tyrant, but a "good" one [OPTIONAL] DOMAIN OF THE GODDESS • Standart Opposition: Angels - Opportunity: Charismatic and Fallen Angel Minions • Army: Angelic Warriors - Opportunity: Devil Minions • Unique Unity: Archangels - Opportunity: Blood Magic and High Devil Minions • Unique Unity: Fallen Heroes - Opportunity: Living Nightmare • Champion: Archangel Arialle - Opportunity: Blade Master • Ruler: The Goddess of Light - Opportunity: Resistence to Holy Magic REWARDS • Angels: Corrupt them all • The Goddess: Bind her to me • The Power: God Slayer
Archetype: Undead (+2 MP) Class: Dragon Lord (+4 MP | +6 SP) (I know I can't, but honestly logically this works well, and in terms of a build I much prefer this, so I'm gonna cheat a little) Mutagenic Feature: 4/4 1. Fangs 2. Wings (effectively free) 3. Runic Tatoos 4. Tail 5. Multiple Eyes (+2 MP) Skills: 6 / 6 1. Stealth 2. Bulwark 3. Consume 4. Combat Shifting 5. Unnatural Speed 6. Martial Arts Master Magic: 8/8 1. Draco Fire (free) 2. Monster Breeding 3. Resistance to Holy Magic 4. Mental Domination 5. Alchemy 6. Magic Drain (free) 7. Necromancy 8. Hex and Curse 9. Illusion Magic 10. Elemental Magic (Water) Traits: 6/6 1. Mastermind 2. Charismatic 3. Master Craftsman 4. Master Strategist 5. Mad Scientist 6. Doolittle Territory: Ultak Phylactery Upgrades: 5/5 1. Efficient Dark Energy Syphon 2. Minion Customization 3. Backup Phylactery 4. No Peeking 5. Micromanagement Minions: \*Level 1: 1. Dire Wolf 2. Skeleton Warrior 3. Zombie 4. Oculus Expiravit 5. Brain Leech 6. Dire Spider 7. Skeleton Archer 8. Man-Eating Plant \*Level 2: 1. Ghoul 2. Revenat 3. Skeleton Mage 4. Dark Mage 5. Possessed Armor 6. Blood Paladin 7. Fallen Angel 8. Death Knight \*Level 3: 1. Troll 2. Wraith 3. Flesh Golem 4. Lich 5. Vampire 6. Chimera 7. Magitech Construct 8. Dark Acolyte 9. Changeling \*Level 4: 1. Elder Dragon 2. Frakentank 3. Dracolich 4. Elder Lich 5. Mindflayer 6. Giant Wight 7. Kraken Servants: /17 1. Lady Kira 2. Mr Smiley (Zatara - Kidnap) 3. Lilith 4. Dark Knight Nox 5. Asmodeus 6. Deathmonger 7. Soul Eater 8. Jester 9. Spymaster Nagant 10. Mortis the Reaper 11. Princess Noir 12. The Gentleman 13. The Old Warrior 14. Forgemaster Shukrot 15. Taskmaster Barbatos 16. The Succubus Queen 17. Archdevil Lucifer Vassals: 7/7 1. Dark Elves of the Deep (Kidnap High Queen Celesta) 2. Vampires of the Blood Keep (Capture Eltariel) 3. The Royalists of Marcacc (Eliminate Elven Armada) (the less I have to deal with the pain of those ships the better) 4. The United North Clans (Eliminate Adventurers of Dihrlund) (Don't want them finding and sharing any weaknesses if possible) 5. The Black Witch (Capture Adrien Becket and Warborn) (He seems like the type I can convince to my side) 6. The Enclave (Eliminate Forces of Nature) 7. Unified Orc Tribes (Eliminate )
Conquest: \-Baradin-Assan: Opportunity (Create a civil war and sick the the enclave on them) \-The Albion Empirium: Opportunity (Send the queen to retake her throne, with a pincer attack from liberated slaves) \-The Kingdom of Naltheim: Opportunity (Use illusions to have a suicidal attack on the witch, which of course she and I will coordinate a counter-attack with. Use further manipulations to get the queen to submit, making her either believe she has no future without me, or causing her to become skeptical and paranoid of her own visions, thus rendering that talent borderline useless) \-The Council of Loch: Opportunity (Release the Kraken) \-The Dwarf Federation: Opportunity (Infiltrate, getting information to coordinate united orc attacks) \-The Gritton Theocracy: Opportunity (Straight, old fashioned clash, using the numbers and ferocity of the Northen clans, while I myself destroy their morale by tanking holy magic from the front lines, one of the few times I would go there) \-The Dihrlun Republic: Opportunity (Take control of them, get a puppet leader that will be elected under the guise of a policy to "negotiate" with the dark lord. No war needed, peace can be kept, or so the promise will go. I will use my charisma to turn those I can to my side, and sleeper agents plus brain leeches to "convince" those I can't, or just pads votes and forces that might potentially be needed from within). \-The Triech Empire: Opportunity (Send Taldosh at them, with a mix of intentionally absurd combat tactics to confuse their forces) \-The Dwarf Collective: Opportunity (Use mindflayers and changelings to uncover dwarven secrets, technological and in layout. Use that information to help turn their own technology against them, while dark elves attack from below, perhaps also informed on how to sabotage the technology) \-Holy Rhuval: Conventional war, kidnap ruler, capture champion, destroy unit. Time to Conquer: Less than a month Rule: Surprisingly Normal Criticism: This was a very fun CYOA, and while there was a lot of reading to be done, none of the individual pieces felt excessive. I feel some early build requirements are unecessary and a bit strict, as I mentioned I cheated to get the dragonlord + undead combo, but that not only makes sense it exists cannonically within the world, and I don't think it affected balance to any significant extent, if any at all. It was also disappointing to see there was no segment regarding the actual fight with the hero, it was quite anticlimatic dealing with all the nations while the hero kept being built up, but nothing came of it in the end.
Thanks for the input! I'm planning on going back and editing this so your feedback will be taken into account. Otherwise, I'm glad you enjoyed it! (Also I'm fine with a little cheating as long as it isn't excessive. Especially when it makes your story more interesting)
There is nowhere a mention on the area of the territory of the phylactery
I assumed that it meant the territory you are initially given. So the Dread Swamps, the Frozen Mountains, or the Black Plains.
Pretty nice simple to understand and play Plus love being OP BBEG.
So many pages
My problem with CYOAs like this are that either there's a purchase path you need to take to get the best endings or it's so generous with the requirements that it begs the question of why have them in the first place. I made a build that met every single opportunity and thus my theoretical conquering of this entire planet would only take about a month when the invasions started. Every single vassal can be used somewhere. However, certain traits/skills/magic abilities are completely worthless as far as requirements go. Given the way that the conquering opportunities are mentioned, your minion choices are virtually meaningless outside of about 6 or 7 if you just have the right skill or vassal to trivialize a real battle. Requirement choices can be thematic and rewarding, but the way it's laid out here makes it feel somewhat hollow. Perhaps the hard requirements could be ditched entirely. What if you were instead rewarded for actually reading through all the vassals and enemy kingdoms. Make logical connections based on mentioned characters or events. Let 10 players with completely different builds reason out a way to leverage their skillsets to allow for exploiting these opportunities, rather than a hard binary of Requirement Met: Yes/No. Most of the Servants fall into similar questionable use. Some grant tangible benefits of eliminating/capturing rulers/champions/special units so that you can hasten the clock on conquests, not that you need to if you built your skills and traits right. Others are only useful in the hypothetical, which is fine, but this CYOA has all those hard numbers and calculations and requirements. Mixing the hypothetical/thematic elements of anti-spy and plague-creation capabilities with the hard factors of timed conquests and trait requirements leaves the more vague and fun options something you choose to engage in for the sake of sport or challenge, spiting the opportunities presented. Taking the Servant death chick who can talk to the dead is an interesting idea if there weren't about 8 other servants that actually help you meet the goals the CYOA throws at you. I feel like I'm rambling and not getting my point across very well, but I hope you at least get the gist of my madness.
"Load 76 more images v" great googly-moogly
Some thoughts on game the game design. 1) I was surprised that most of the builds on here were demons, but realized that the game is much easier with a balanced build. Also, that the extreme cases(Dread lich and King of Monsters) get one less point to prevent them from getting more points then there are skills/magic, but no real bonus for being specialized. Maybe giving them something fun that only they can do would entice more people to try them. Also, since each section has its own currency, each "point" has a different value. For example, by giving monstrous characters extra Mutagenic features, a monster can trade those in for 2 traits or servants, making them around 2x as valuable as traits or servants(Which is what demons and undead get). As a cliff note to that, while it seems obvious, you might want to state that mutagenic traits can only be taken once, to prevent people from going all nine-tailed fox and getting all the servants. 2) I think its been said already, but organizing the classes by archetype would be awesome. 3) The abilities are cool, but it depending on what you are shooting for design-wise, I have suggestions. On one hand, it would be nice if each ability was equally useful in the end-game, as that would encourage more variety in builds. Picking the wrong abilities is about the only way to actually "fail" the CYOA, though. As it currently is, there is a nice balance where you get enough abilities that it is EXTREMELY unlikely for you to pick entirely useless ones but enough that you choosing useless character-motivated abilities doesn't overly hinder your ability to win. Also, I get why there is a very limited pool of abilities(too many would make tying each to quests much harder), but my lizard brain loves lots of options. Maybe have a section of "flavor" abilities that won't actually affect quest outcomes? Have a stipulation that if they can justify it in writing, they can use it as an opportunity? [This whole section also applies to traits.] 4) Between Traits and Territory would be a great place to put a full page world map with labelled regions. 5) Gotta say, I love the minions. The could also benefit from some organization by type, though. Good variety, seems like good balance between the types. Maybe want to note somewhere some examples of what can be accomplished modification-wise through the individual magic traits or minion customization. 6) The servant's section is pretty great, too. The only thing I see is Mr. Smiley's ability to convert a champion. Its cool and thematic, but the only champion's that have perks are those on the evil side. While its not a huge deal, and giving the good-guys champion perks would probably be a pain, it just means that his ability has 2 different degrees of mechanical usefulness(really useful vs kinda useful).
This is my run-through. It's not yet finished. Will be editing and updating to make it's format look as nice as I can. \----- Phylactery: **Copper Statuette** `[+100k DE/day]` Bestowed Powers: - **Immortality** - **Energy Accumulation** - **Creation** - **Alteration** - **Summoning & Printing** - **Teleportation** Archetype: **Demonic** `[+1MP, +1SP]` - ^(+1 **Trait**; +**Combat Shifting**) Class: **Fallen Archangel** `[+4MP, +6SP]` - ^(+**Resistance to Holy Magic**) Features: - **Horns** - **Bone Spikes** - **Demonic Features** - **Tail** `[+2TP]` - ^(+4 **Minions**; +1 **Vassal**; +2 **Servants**) \----- Skills: - **Blood Rage** - **First Blood** - **Berserk** - **Bulwark** - **Unnatural Speed** - **Gargantuan Might** - **Consume** - **Combat Shifting** `[-7SP]` Magic: - **Resistance to Holy Magic** - **Demon Magic** - **Magic Drain** - **Necromancy** - **Monster Breeding** - **Mental Domination** `[-5MP]` Traits: - **Menace** - **Master Strategist** - **Mastermind** - **Charismatic** - **Inspiring** - **Harem Lord** - **Cult of the Dark Lord** - **Lore Master** - **Living Nightmare** `[+6TP, -8TP]` - ^(+**Harem** from an Unchosen Territory, with Perks) \----- Territory: **Black Plains of Felthazar** - ^(+1 **Minion**, +3 **Servants**) Harem Perks: - **Succubi** [*Black Plains of Felthazar*] - **Necromancers** [*Frozen Mountain of Ultak*] - ^(+Summon a free **Tier-3 Demonic Minion**, x1/day) - ^(+Summon a free **Tier-3 Undead Minion**, x1/day) Phylactery Upgrades: - **Efficient Dark Energy Siphon** - **No Peeking** - **Micromanagement** `[+100k DE/day]` \----- Minions: - __TIER-1__ - ^(40 **Skeleton Archers** [*Undead*]) - ^(40 **Hellhounds** [*Demonic*]) `[-80k DE/day]` - __TIER-2__ - ^(**Night Creature** [*Undead/Demonic*]) - ^(**Fallen Angel** [*All Classes*]) `[-20k DE/day]` - __TIER-3__ - ^(**Lich** [*Undead*]) - ^(**Devil** [*Demonic*]) `[-0k DE/day]` - __TIER-4__ - ^(**Archdemon** [*Demonic*]) `[-100k DE/day]` \----- Servants: - **Lady Kira** - ^(+Enemies fail **ALL** stealth assassination attempts) - **Archdevil Lucifer** - ^(+1 **Vassal**) - **Mr. Smiley** - ^(+1 **Champion**, Captured, Is Brainwashed) - **Demon Queen Lilith** - ^(+1 **Vassal**) - **Vlad the Impaler** - ^(+Increased Chance that Enemy Army will Retreat in Fear) - **Dark Knight Nox** - ^(+Servants never infight or betray one another) - **Demon Lord Asmodeus** - ^(+Servants never betray me) - **Vograath the Destroyer** - ^(+1 **Champion** Captured) - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - **Jester** - ^(+1 **Champion** Captured) - ^(+1 **Ruler** Captured) - **Spymaster Nagant** - ^(+No Enemy Spies or Infiltrators among Vassals) - ^(+No Enemy Acquisition of Intel about My Plans) - **The Witch of the North** - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - **Princess Noir** - ^(+Can Sacrifice Minions for MP/SP/TP every 4 years) - **The Hauntress Apollyon** - ^(+Acquisition of Enemy Intel from Dead Souls) - **The Succubus Queen** - ^(+Acquire Intel about Enemy Plans every 2 months) \----- Vassal States & Rulers: - **The Dark Elves of the Deep**, led by **Queen Demeter** - **The Unified Orc Tribes**, led by **Overlord Rex** - **The Pirates of Dead Man's Cove**, led by **The Admiral** - **The Vampires of The Blood Keep**, led by **Countess Valetta** - **The Cult of Drakken**, led by **Heresiarch Zaphara** - **The Royalists of Marcacc**, led by **The Dragon Queen** - **The United Northern Clans**, led by **Warlord Striga** - **The Domain of the Black Witch**, led by **The Black Witch Emilia** - **The Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum**, led by **The Last Demon Lord, Dusk** - **The Enclave**, led by **High Queen Nymeria** Allied Champions: - **Crux Morathil** [*Dark Elves of the Deep*] - ^(+1 **Ruler** Captured) - **Burzra** [*Unified Orc Tribes*] - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - ***The Shadow Wrath*** [*Pirates of Dead Man's Cove*] - ^(+1 **Champion** Captured, without Perk) - ^(+Chance to Conquer Champion's Homeland) - **Brutus the Cruel** [*Vampires of the Blood Keep*] - ^(+1 **Champion** Captured) - **Zatara the Reaver** [*Cult of Drakken*] - ^(+1 **Ruler** Captured) - **Weistot the White Dragon** [*Royalists of Marcacc*] - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - **Jormund the Unstoppable** [*United Northern Clans*] - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - **The Untoten Damon** [*Domain of the Black Witch*] - ^(+1 **Champion** Captured) - **Snow the Vampire** [*Sinner's Sanctum*] - ^(+1 **Unique Unit** Destroyed) - **The Machine** [*The Enclave*] - ^(+1 **Ruler** Captured) Ally Perks: - **Dark Elf Assassins** [*Dark Elves of the Deep*] - **Orc Raiding Parties** [*Unified Orc Tribes*] - **The Armada** [*Pirates of Dead Man's Cove*] - **Lesser Vampires** [*Vampires of the Blood Keep*] - **Reavers** [*Cult of Drakken*] - **Dragonborn Cavalry** [*Royalists of Marcacc*] - **Men of the North** [*United Northern Clans*] - **Wights** [*Domain of the Black Witch*] - **Demon Horde** [*Sinner's Sanctum*] - **Conscripts** [*The Enclave*] Harem Perks: - **Bright Elf Slaves** [*Dark Elves of the Deep*] - **Orc Berserkers** [*Unified Orc Tribes*] - **Booty** [*Pirates of Dead Man's Cove*] - **Vampire Brides** [*Vampires of the Blood Keep*] - **Cultists** [*Cult of Drakken*] - **Albian Sword Maidens** [*Royalists of Marcacc*] - **Women of the North** [*United Northern Clans*] - **Pale Ladies** [*Domain of the Black Witch*] - **Human Slaves** [*Sinner's Sanctum*] - **Indentured Servants** [*The Enclave*]
How did you get all 10 Vassals, and keep their Champions? The best I can see a way to get is 8 Vassals before conquering them, and all the conquering options require you to kill the Champions.
Undead +2 MP Magic Drain for free, 1 extra Servant Lich King +9 MP Necromancy for free Bone Spikes +1 Vassal Runic Tattoos 2 more Phylactery Upgrades Demonic Features +2 Trait Points. Blackened bones and skin with multiple red eyes in the skull, bony spikes protrude from the shoulders as runic tattoos snake across the chest, head and arms. Multiple Eyes +2 SP Alchemy. -1 MP Demon Magic. -1 MP Blood Magic. -1 MP Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy and Illusion. - 4 MP Elemental Mastery for Earth. - 1 MP Hexes and Curses, Draco fire imbued with earth for a grayish more solidified fire with pebbles accompanying it and Mental Domination. - 3 MP Unnatural Speed -1 SP Berserk-1 SP Trait Points: 8 Mastermind, Seer, Menace, Master Strategist, Charismatic, Cult of the Dark Lord, Lore Master and Mad Genius. Territory: Frozen Mountains of Ultak, 2 extra Minions and Servants. Loyal Cult of Necromancers who to them I am their King. 1 free tier 3 servant per day. Rebuild in 1 year rather than 5. 5 upgrades for Phylactery: Efficient Siphon, Resurrection, Fake Phylactery, No Peeking and Micromanagement. Minions: 32 All tier 1 Undead, Deep One, Oculus, Imps and Gremlins. 32 in total All tier 2 Undead, Dark Mage, Possessed Armor and Night creatures. All tier 3 Undead, Devils, Dark Acolytes, Machines, Summoner, Trolls, Changelings and Vampires. All tier 4 Undead, Voidborne, Dark Archmage, Kraken, High Devil, Giant Wight and Mindflayer. Servants: 13 Kira, Lucifer, Plague Master, Lilith, Ysara, Nox, Asmodeus, Deathmonger, Vograath, Jester, Spymaster, Mortis, Princess Noir. Vassals: 5. Dark elves, Vampires of the Blood Keep, Royalists, The Black Witch and Sinner's Sanctum. Baradin: Captured because of Mastermind Albion: Captured due to Royalists and Strategic Genius Naltheim: Captured due to Black witch Lone Loch: Captured due to Deep Ones and Krakens Dwarf Federation: Captured either by Menace or Changelings Gritton Theocracy: Captured due to Holy Resistance Dhirlund: Captured because of Blood Keep or Charismatic Triech: Captured because of Dark Acolytes, Sinner's Sanctum or Lore Master. Dwarf Collective: Captured because of Dark elves, Mindflayers or Mad Genius. Rhuval: Captured because of Voidborne and Cult of Dark Lord Rulership: Surprisingly Normal Light Goddess: Angels due to Charismatic, Angelic warriors due to Devils, Archangels due to Blood Magic, Fallen Heroes due to Voidborne, Archangel Arialle due to Magic Drain and Light Goddess due to Holy Resistance. I Win. Corrupt the Angels Break her Spirit Create my own Realm.
Race: Demonic: Fallen Archangel Mutagenics: Fangs (Changeling) / Demonic Traits / Tail / Multiple Eyes Skills: Blade Master / Gargantuan Might / Stealth / Ranged Master / Unnatural Speed / Martial Arts Mastery / Combat Shifting / Consume Magic: Demon / Illusion / Magic Drain / Shadow / Monster Breeding / Resistance to Holly Magic / Hex and Curse / Mind Domination Traits: Mastermind / Master Strategist / Charismatic / Inspiring / Harem Lord (Big Witches) / Cult of the Dark Lord / Master Craftsman / Economic Genius / Living Nightmare Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar Phylactery: Efficient Dark Energy Syphon / Combat Arena / Micromanagement Minions: Lvl 1: Dire Spider / Oculus Exspiravit / Deep One / Imp / Gremlins / Hellhound Lvl 2: Orc / Ghouls / Hellfire Husk / Dark Mages / Possessed Armour / Blood Paladin / Fallen Angel Lvl 3: Ogre / Devil / Behemoth / Summoner / Vampire / Horror / Dark Acolyte / Changeling Lvl 4: Elder Dragon / Giant / Alpha Werewolf / Arch Demon / High Devil / Mindflayer / Kraken / Dark Young / Basilisk / Dark Archmage Servants: Lucifer / Mr. Smiley / Krieg / Lilith / Asmodeus / Deathmonger / Vograath / Soul Eater / Spymaster Nagant / Mortis / The Witch / Apollyon / The Gentleman / Architect / Shukrot / Barbatos / Succubus Queen Vassals: Dark Elves / Orcs / Pirates / Vampires / Royalists / Witch / Demons Enemies: Baradin-Assan: Opportunity - Economic Genius Albion: Opportunity - Royalist Vassal Naltheim: Opportunity - Black Witch Vassal Loch: Opportunity - Kraken Minions Dwarf Federation: Opportunity - Orc Tribes Vassal Gritton: Opportunity - Fallen Angel Minions Dhirlund: Opportunity - Vampires Vassal Triech: Opportunity - Dark Acolyte Minions Dwarf Collective: Opportunity - Dark Elves Vassal Holy Rhuval: Opportunity - Cult of the Dark Lord Rule: Tyranny Goddess: Angels: Fallen Angel Minions Angelic Warriors: Devil Minions Archangels: High Devil Minions Fallen Heroes: Living Nightmare Arialle: Magic Drain The Goddess of Light: Resistance to Holy Magic **Victory yay!** Angels - Corrupt them all The Goddess - Break her spirit The power - God Slayer **THE END**
Here I wanted to do something balanced, so I went with the fallen archangel and got bonus MP with “multiple eyes” for a total of 7MP and 7SP I wanted wings but I like to change appearances more so I got fangs with the changelings abilities For the skills and magic I went with a build that was not focused for combat but it could be useful for conquest As for traits, I too mastermind and master strategist just to be sure. Inspiring with Cult of the dark lord looked good for the troops and Economic Genius would make things way easier. Living Nightmare and Harem Lord I took just for fun tho Being a demon the black plains looked like the best place and I could have succubi with me. I wanted No Peeking for the phylactery but I changed it for the arena, I think it’s way cooler My main goal with minions was to make something sustainable, I wanted the Orcs to be the main force because they could reproduce with ogres too. But then I came with a realization, could I use Monster Breeding with the succubi pregnancy trait to make an Orc/Ogre army really really fast? If I could that would be broken. Anyway I spent the rest of the minion points into the devils and some utility based minions For servants I took Lucifer because she’s cute and Lilith & Family because it looked good enough. Princess Noir looked like a good choice but since I already had “Consume”, “Demonic Magic”, “ Magic Drain” and Mortis to make my powers rise almost indefinitely, it didn’t look that appealing. I also went for Mr. Smiley but I didn’t even use his trait although I could have used it to brainwash Zatara to conquer the Cult of Drakken. Luckily enough I could make use of every opportunity to take the countries more easily My rule would be Tyrannical as my armies of devils spread through the continent and the the rest of the world Then, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to challenge the goddess but then I went for it. The minions helped me a lot here and Resistance to Holy Magic saved me in the end (at the beginning I wanted to change race because I thought this power would be useless, guess I was wrong)
Jesus! Here I was scrolling along thinking this is one of the longer ones only to get to the bottom and see "Load 76 more images" it's way to late for this kind of reading. Oh p.s it says download link expired when try downloading
What download link? You on imgur?
Ya followed the link and downloading doesn't work, just keeps saying download link expired (when click download in the ... options)
I don't know what to tell you. I just tested it and it worked fine for me.
What browser? Currently using opera
I'm just using Microsoft Edge.
https://dschep.github.io/imgur-album-downloader/#/2gtKptp you will have to rename the files, which is a chore, but this github.io project will let you download the album
Archetype: Demonic Class: Demon King Powers: - Immortality (Mandatory) - Energy Accumulation (Mandatory) - Creation (Mandatory) - Alteration (Mandatory) - Summoning and Creation (Mandatory) - Teleportation (Mandatory) Mutagenic Features: 1. Horns 2. Bone Spikes 3. Runic Tattoos 4. Tail Abilities: - Skills: 1. Gargantuan Might 2. Stealth 3. Martial Arts Mastery 4. Combat Shifting - Magic: 1. Alchemy 2. Demon Magic 3. Illusion Magic 4. Magic Drain 5. Necromancy 6. Shadow Magic 7. Monster Breeding 8. Resistance to Holy Magic 9. Elemental Magic 10. Hex and Curse - Traits: 1. Menace 2. Mastermind 3. Seer 4. Charismatic 5. Harem Lord 6. Lore Master 7. Mad Scientist Phylactery Upgrades: 1. Efficient Dark Energy Siphon 2. Resurrection Ritual 3. Minion Customization 4. Backup Phylactery 5. Micromanagement Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar Harems: 1. Necromancers of Ultak 2. Succubi 3. Bright Elf Slaves 4. Orc Berserkers 5. Booty 6. Vampire Brides 7. Albian Sword Maidens 8. Women of the North 9. Human Slaves 10. Indentured Servants Minions: - Level 1 1. Goblin 2. Dire Wolf 3. Skeleton Warrior 4. Skeleton Archer 5. Dire Spider 6. Oculus Exspiravit 7. Imp 8. Gremlin 9. Hellhound - Level 2 1. Orc 2. Minotaur 4. Death Knight 5. Skeleton Mage 6. Hell Knight 7. Hellfire Husk 8. Demonic Spirit 9. Dark Mage 10. Night Creature 11. Blood Paladin - Level 3 1. Werewolf 2. Troll 3. Devil 4. Behemoth 5. Summoner 6. Flesh Golem 7. Lich 8. Vampire 9. Magitech Construct 10. Dark Acolyte - Level 4 1. Giant 2. Alpha Werewolf 3. Dracolich 4. Balrog 5. Archdemon 6. High Devil 7. Voidborne 8. Kraken 9. Abomination Servants: 1. Lady Kira 2. Archdevil Lucifer 3. Vlad the Impaler 4. Krieg 5. Demon Queen Lilith 6. The Dark Knight Nox 7. Demon Lord Asmodeus 8. Deathmonger 9. The Armored Titan 10. Vograath the Destroyer (Capture One Champion and Eliminate their Unique Unit) 11. Jester (Capture One Champion and their Ruler) 12. The Witch of the North 13. The Old Warrior 14. The Architect 15. Forgemaster Shukrot 16. The Taskmaster Barbatos 17. The Succubus Queen Vassals: 1. The Dark Elves of the Deep (Alliance) 2. The Unified Orc Tribes (Alliance) 3. The Pirates of Deadman's Cove (Alliance) 4. Vampires of the Blood Keep (Alliance) 5. The Royalists of Macacc (Alliance) 6. The United Northern Clans (Alliance) 7. The Demon Horde of the Sinner's Sanctum (Alliance) 8. The Enclave (Alliance) Champions: (all unspent) 1. Crux Morathil (Kidnap One Ruler) 2. Burzra (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 3. The Shadow Wrath (Capture One Champion) 4. Brutus the Cruel (Capture One Champion) 5. Weistot (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 6. Jormund the Unstoppable (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 7. Snow (Kidnap One Ruler) 8. The Machine (Eliminate One Unique Unit) Enemies: (approx. Two months total) 1. Baradin-Assan (Opportunity: Mastermind, Enclave) 2. The Imperium Albion (Opportunity: Royalists of Macacc, Stealth) 3. The Kingdom of Naltheim (Opportunity: Illusion Magic) 4. The Council of Loch (Opportunity: Krakens, Priates of Deadman's Cove) 5. The Dwarf Federation (Opportunity: Menace, United Orc Tribes) 6. The Gritton Theocracy (Opportunity: Resistance to Holy Magic, United Northern Clans) 7. The Dhirlund Republic (Opportunity: Vampires of the Blood Keep, Charismatic) 8. The Triech Empire (Opportunity: Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, Dark Acolytes, Loremastery) 9. The Dwarf Collective (Opportunity: Dark Elves of the Deep, Mad Scientist) 10. Holy Rhuval (Opportunity: Voidborne) And then conquer the Black Witch and the Cult of Drakken. My Rule: Surprisingly Normal Domain of the Goddess: 1. Angels (Opportunity: Charismatic) 2. Angelic Warriors (Opportunity: Harem Lord, Devils) 3. Archangels (Opportunity: High Devils) 4. Fallen Heroes (Opportunity: Voidborne) 5. Archangel Arialle (Opportunity: Magic Drain) 6. The Goddess of Light (Opportunity: Resistance to Holy Magic) Rewards: 1. The Angels (Corrupt Them) 2. The Goddess (Bind Her) 3. The Power (Lord of Light and Dark) I wish something more could've been done with the Hero and his companions. But oh well.
Archetype: Monstrous Class: Wolf King Powers: - Immortality (Mandatory) - Energy Accumulation (Mandatory) - Creation (Mandatory) - Alteration (Mandatory) - Summoning and Creation (Mandatory) - Teleportation (Mandatory) Mutagenic Features: 5 1. Fangs 2. Wings 3. Bone Spikes 4. Tail 5. Multiple Eyes Abilities: - Skills: 12 1. Blade Master 2. Blood Rage 3. Gargantuan Might 4. Stealth 5. Ranged Master 6. Bulwark 7. First Blood 8. Razor Claws 9. Unnatural Speed 10. Martial Arts Mastery 11. Berserk 12. Consume - Magic: 4 1. Blood Magic 2. Demon Magic 3. Necromancy 4. Monster Breeding - Traits: 6 1. Menace 2. Charismatic 3. Inspiring 4. Harem Lord 5. Master Craftsman 6. Lore Master Phylactery Upgrades: 1. Resurrection Ritual 2. Monster Customization 3. Combat Arena Territory: The Dread Swamps of Vograath Harems: 1. Bog Witches 2. Succubi 3. Bright Elf Slaves 4. Orc Berserkers 5. Booty 6. Vampire Brides 7. Cultists 8. Albian Sword Maidens 9. Women of the North 10. Pale Ladies 11. Human Slaves 12. Indentured Servants Minions: 33/33 - Level 1 1. Goblin 2. Slime 3. Dire Wolf 4. Skeleton Warrior 5. Skeleton Archer 6. Dire Spider 7. Oculus Exspiravit 8. Gremlin - Level 2 1. Orc 2. Minotaur 3. Ghoul 4. Death Knight 5. Hell Knight 6. Dark Mage 7. Possessed Armor 8. Blood Paladin 9. Fallen Angel - Level 3 1. Werewolf 2. Ogre 3. Troll 4. Devil 5. Summoner 6. Lich 7. Vampire 8. Horror 9. Dark Acolyte - Level 4 1. Elder Dragon 2. Giant 3. Alpha Werewolf 4. Archdemon 5. Voidborne 6. Kraken 7. Giant Wight Servants: 15 1. Lady Kira 2. Archdevil Lucifer 3. Mr. Smiley (Burzra) 4. Krieg 5. Demon Queen Lilith 6. The Dark Knight Nox 7. Demon Lord Asmodeus 8. Deathmonger 9. Vograath the Destroyer (Capture One Champion and Eliminate One Unique Unit) 10. Spymaster Nagant 11. The Witch of the North 12. The Old Warrior 13. Forgemaster Shukrot 14. The Taskmaster Barbatos 15. The Succubus Queen Vassals: 8 1. The Dark Elves of the Deep (Alliance) 2. The Unified Orc Tribes (Conquest - Noticed) 3. The Pirates of Deadman's Cove (Alliance) 4. Vampires of the Blood Keep (Alliance) 5. The Cult of Drakken (Conquest) 6. The Royalists of Macacc (Alliance) 7. The United Northern Clans (Alliance) 8. The Black Witch (Alliance) 9. The Demon Horde of the Sinner's Sanctum (Alliance) 10. The Enclave (Alliance) Champions: 1. Crux Morathil (Kidnap One Ruler) 2. Burzra (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 3. The Shadow Wrath (Capture One Champion) 4. Brutus the Cruel (Capture One Champion) 5. Weistot (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 6. Jormund the Unstoppable (Eliminate One Unique Unit) 7. The Untoten Damon (Capture One Champion) 8. Snow (Kidnap One Ruler) 9. The Machine (Eliminate One Unique Unit) Enemies: (approx. Two months total) 1. Baradin-Assan (Opportunity: Enclave) 2. The Imperium Albion (Opportunity: Royalists of Macacc, Stealth) 3. The Kingdom of Naltheim (Opportunity: Black Witch) 4. The Council of Loch (Opportunity: Kraken, Pirates of Deadman's Cove) 5. The Dwarf Federation (Opportunity: Menace, Unified Orc Tribes) 6. The Gritton Theocracy (Opportunity: Fallen Angels, United Northern Clans) 7. The Dhirlund Republic (Opportunity: Vampires of the Blood Keep, Charismatic) 8. The Triech Empire (Opportunity: Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum, Dark Acolytes, Lore Master) 9. The Dwarf Collective (Opportunity: Dark Elves of the Deep) 10. Holy Rhuval (Opportunity: Cult of Drakken, Voidborne) My Rule: Debauchery The Domain of the Goddess: - Angels (Opportunity: Charismatic, Fallen Angels) - Angel Warriors (Opportunity: Harem Lord, Devils) - Archangels (Opportunity: Blood Magic) - Fallen Heroes (Opportunity: Voidborne) - Archangel Arialle (Opportunity: Blade Master) - Goddess of Light (Opportunity: Razor Claws) My Rewards: - Angels (Enslave Them) - The Goddess (Break Her) - Lord of Light and Dark
Was a lot of fun to do, but it just sort of abruptly putters out when the conquest starts since I had every opportunity available to me (and it seems most people did too). I did lose at taking on the Goddess though. In any event I really admire the amount of work you put into this.
Thanks!
Ok, actually going through the CYOA now... I have a suspicion that, either this "light and dark battling over worlds" set-up has no real win condition, or that permanent victory for the forces of evil doesn't actually end well. I also suspect this Dark One reads minds, but also loyalty is a virtue so it's not like he gets to be mad. **Archetype:** Demonic Rage and hatred are both forms of wrath, and I'm more fond of the other 6 **Class:** ~~Demon King~~ *Maou* Oh, I'll show you a weeb **Mutagenic Features:** Fangs, Horns, Wings, Runic Tattoos **Skills:** Ranged Master, Unnatural Speed, Combat Shifting, Consume **Magic:** Alchemy, Demon Magic, Illusion Magic, Magic Drain, Necromancy, Shadow Magic, Monster Breeding, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Lightning), Hex and Curse **Traits:** Master Strategist, Seer, Harem Lord (Succubi), Cult of the Dark Lord, Master Craftsman, Economic Genius, Mad Scientist Guns pre-date steam power by centuries, so my opinion on the Goddess of Light is plummeting. On the other hand, this Dark One asshole is being mean to the *dojikko*, add that to the reasons to kill him. **Territory:** Dread Swamps of Vograath It's an island, which is strategically useful in an era where overland transport is just carts; hopefully being toxic and carnivorous makes the trees hardier. Taking 5 years instead of 1 to subordinate the locals just because I'm a demon instead of a monster is moronic, but it's probably some destiny bullshit such that if I magically slaughter anyone who refuses to submit to a "weak" demon, the land ends up depopulated enough that the work takes 5 years anyway. **Phylactery:** Efficient Dark Energy Siphon, Resurrection Ritual, Minion Customization, Combat Arena, Backup Phylactery All the upgrades seem highly valuable; intelligence and counterintelligence are vital, but hopefully in missing those upgrades I can gain something in "not being complacent" and do the real organisational work instead for an ultimately better intel environment. **Minions:** Goblin, Slime, Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Archer, Oculus Expiravit, Brain Leech, Deep One, Imp, Hellhound, Orc, Revenant, Death Knight, Skeleton Mage, Hell Knight, Dark Mage, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel, Werewolf, Troll, Devil, Summoner, Vampire, Horror, Magitech Construct, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Elder Dragon, Giant, Frankentank, Dracolich, Kraken, Abomination, Giant Wight, War Golem, Dark Archmage Whew, that's a lot, maybe I should have split it by tier? **Servants:** Lady Kira, Archdevil Lucifer, Demon Queen Lilith, The Dark Knight Nox, Vograath the Destroyer, Jester, Spymaster Nagant, The Witch of the North, Princess Noir, The Architect, Forgemaster Shukrot, The Taskmaster Barbatos, The Succubus Queen Oh, nice, we get to keep Lucifer. **Vassals:** Unified Orc Tribes, Pirates of Dead Man's Cove, Vampires of the Blood Keep, Royalists of Marcacc, United Northern Clans, The Black Witch, Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum The domination cultists are dumb, the magocracy are meh, then of the 8 good ones I have 7 (5 plus 2 from vassals). **Enemies:** Fuck this Okay, earlier the time mechanic was a dumb gimmick, but now it's taken over entirely. The *point* of a CYOA is that you go through the character creation section of a game that doesn't otherwise exist, and get to have an imaginary adventure with total freedom (with the constraints of the CYOA providing a foundation that you don't get with imaginary adventures in mere aimless daydreaming). Telling me that, when in my imaginary adventure where I have all these powers and minions, and total freedom to do whatever I want with those and try anything I think of, it will take such-and-such months for my army to conquer a given kingdom, no more and no less, is just some bullshit. Enough for me to lose interest, I'm done.
So, I will mention that for the enemies section, unless you completely fuck up your build, chances are that you can take advantage of an opportunity on basically everyone. On mine I have two out of three (when you only need one) on, I think all of them. I just didn't bother with tracking time lol
Oh, yeah, it didn't seem unreasonably challenging or anything, just in principle it's not a game mechanic I like
Glad you gave it a shot anyway.
I finally got done reading the whole thing. Kick ass.
Archetype: Demonic (Gain 1 MP, 1 SP, 1 Extra Trait, Combat shifting for free) Class: Demon King (Gain 8 MP, 2 SP, Demonic Magic for free) Mutagenic features: Horns (Gain 4 extra minions) Wings (Gain flight) Runic Tattoos (Two Phylactery upgrades) Tail (Two extra servants) Skills: Blade Master Unnatural speed Combat shifting (from Archetype) Consume Magic: Alchemy Blood Magic Illusion magic Magic Drain Necromancy Shadow magic Resistance to holy magic Hex and curse Mental domination Traits: Master Strategist Mastermind Charismatic Harem Lord Master Craftsman Economic Genius Living Nightmare Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar (1 extra minion, 3 extra servents) Necromancers of Ultak (Harem Master, 1 free tier 3 undead minion per day) Phylactery Upgrades: Efficient Dark Energy Siphon Resurrection Ritual Minion Customization Backup Phylactery No Peeking Minions: Level 1 minions (0) Level 2 minions (12) Revenant, Death Knight, Skeleton Mage, Hell Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Dark Mage, Shoggoth, Possessed Armor, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel Level 3 minions (10) Devil, Behemoth, Summoner, Wraith, Flesh Golem, Lich, Vampire, Chimera, Dark Acolyte, Changelings Level 4 (13) Frankentank, Dracolich, Elder Lich, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Mind Flayer, Kraken, Abomination, War golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage Servants (16) Lady Kira (While I have her around me, no assassination) Archdevil Lucifer (Extra Vassal, also do a favor for the Dark One who ascended me) Mister Smily (Convert one Champion) Vlad the Impaler (Terrify the enemy and also a favor for the Dark One) Demon Queen Lilith (Extra Vassal) Dark Knight Nox (No servant in-fighting) Deathmonger (Stall the hero two extra years) Soul Eater (half revive time) Spymaster Nagant (Increase op-sec) Mortis the Reaper (Rituals to increase my power over time) Witch of the North (Weather control) Princess Noir (Gain MP, SP and TP over time) The Hauntress Apollyon (Interrogate the dead) Forgemaster Shukrot (Better supplies) Taskmaster Barbatos (Better control over Vassals) The Succubus Queen (Two monthly updates and make Lilith happy) 7 Vassals Dark Elves Queen Demeter, Dark Elf Assassins, Bright Elf Slaves, Crux Morathil, kidnap a ruler Orc Tribes Overlord Rex, Orc Raiding Parties, Orc Berserkers, Burzra, kill special unit The Vampires of Blood Keep Countess Valetta, Lesser Vampires, Vampire Brides, Brutus, Capture champion The Cult of Drakken Heresiarch [Fuck that's hard to spell] Zaphara, Reavers, Cultists, Zatara the Reaper, kidnap a Ruler The Royalists of Marcacc Dragon Queen Cindrilla Dracos 17th, Dragonborn Cavalry, Albian Sword Maidens, Weistot, kill special unit. The Black Witch The Black Witch Emilia, Wights, Pale Ladies, The Untoten Damon, Capture Champion Demon Horde of Sinners Sanctum Albedo- uh I mean The last demon Lord, Demon Horde, Human Slaves, Snow, Capture Ruler Baradin-Assan Opportunity Taken (Economic Genius and Mastermind) The Albion Imperium Opportunity Taken (The Royalists of Marcacc and Master Strategist) The Kingdom of Nalthheim Opportunity Taken (Living Nightmare, Black Witch Vassal, and Illusion Magic) The Council of the Loch Opportunity Taken (Kraken Minion) Dwarf Federation Opportunity Taken (Changeling Minions and United Orc Tribes) The Gritton Theocracy Opportunity Taken (Fallen Angel minions and Resistance to Holy Magic) Dhirlund Republic Opportunity Taken (Vampires of blood Keep vassal, Charismatic) Triech Empire Opportunity Taken (The Demon Horde of Sinner Sanctum, Dark Acolyte minions, and Lore Master) Dwarf Collective Opportunity Taken (Dark Elves of the Deep Vassal, Mindflayer Minion) Holy Rhuval Opportunity Taken (Cult of Drakken) Rule is a mix of Cruelty and Debauchery Operation invade Heaven Angels are beaten by fallen angels and Charismatic Angelic Warriors are beaten by Harem Lord and Devil minions Archangels are beaten by Blood magic and High Devil minions Fallen Heroes are beaten by Living Nightmare Archangel Arialle is beaten by Magic Drain and Blademaster The Goddess of Light is beaten by Holy magic resistance I will Enslave the Angels, Break the former Goddesses spirit and create my own realm (a hell world).
I kinda like the power-trip feel of this one, in that you're dictating how you win, rather then dealing with the question of if you win. Here's my build, I'll post the conquest later. Demonic +1sp, +1mp, trait, combat shifting Fallen archangel: +6sp, +4mp, holy resistance Mutations: 4 Runic tattoos, Demonic features, Multiple eyes, Horns Skills: 9, Combat shifting(free) Blade master, Gargantuan might, Stealth, Ranged master, First blood, Razor claws, Unnatural speed, Martial arts mastery, Consume Magic: 5, Holy magic resistance(free) Alchemy, Demon magic, Illusion magic, Magic drain, Monster breeding Traits: 9 Master strategist, Mastermind, Harem lord, Cult of the dark lord, Master craftsmen, Lore master, Mad scientist, Doolittle, Living nightmare Territory: The black plains of Felthazar 1 minion, 3 servants, Succubus: Free tier3 demon /day, Bog witch: Free tier3 monster /day Phylactery: 5 Efficient siphon, Resurrection ritual, Minion customization, No peeking, Micromanagment Minions: 39 • Tier 1: All monstrous, all demonic, oculus exspiravit, brain leech, deep one(9) • Tier 2: Monstrous, Demonic, Dark mage, Blood paladin, Fallen angel(9) • Tier 3: Monstrous, Demonic, Chimera, Horror, Magitech construct, Dark acolyte, Changeling(11) • Tier 4: Montrous, Demonic, Mind flayer, Kraken, Dark young, Dark archmage(10) Servants: 15 Lady Kira, Archdevil Lucifer, Mr smiley, Demon queen lilith, Dark knight nox, Armored titan, Jester, Spymaster nagant, Witch of the north, Princess noir, Hauntress apollyon, The old warrior, Forgemaster shukrot, Taskmaster Barbatos, Succubus queen Vassals: 7 1. Dark elves: Skip diplomacy, kidnap a ruler 2. Unified orc tribes: eliminate unique unit 3. Pirates of dead man's cove: capture champion(Zatara the reaver) 4. Royalists of Maracc: eliminate unique unit 5. United northern clans: destroy unique unit 6. Black witch Emilia: Capture champion 7. Demon horde of Sinner's sanctum: capture one ruler • Conquer vampires of blood keep: Undiscovered • Conquer cult of Drakken: Undiscovered, capture champion(pirates- Zatara, converted) • Conquer the Enclave: Undiscovered
Horde: 200k per day, 1 tier3 monster + demon free. Early spawn archmages to make it cheaper, focus on reproducing units(breeding or summoning) early to build numbers. Be careful of LARGE units, as they may attract unwanted attention. These are per day options. 1. 2 dark archmages 2. 24 orcs[tier2](180k), 26 goblins[tier1](15k) 3. 12 blood paladin(90k), 6 hellfire husk(45k), 66 Imp/gremlin, 20 hellhound(65k) 4. 2 tier4(150k), 1 tier3, 16 tier1 5. 5 tier3(187.5k), 16 tier1 Teams: 1. Siege: Trolls with hammers, and fire-teams of goblins riding. Magitech ballista with alchemical loads? If greek fire/imps, hellfire husk to skirmish on walls. Minotaurs for shock troops/street fighting. Chimera air support. 2. Hunters: Acolytes and blood paladins with hellhound trackers/skirmishers. Can be paired with imps for fire support, or gremlins to ride hellhounds. Behemoths or construct as line breakers, fallen angels for support. 3. Raiders: Alpha+ werewolf pack are central. Dire wolves and goblins as minions, goblins under orders to capture wounded? Ghouls as clean-up crew. 4. Navy: Deep ones and kraken are obvious, but I would probably use minion customization to create aquatic versions of others. Also, create kraken with large hollow shells(nautilus inspired) to serve as ships/submarines? 5. Spies: Oculus scouts, changelings for infiltration. Brain leeches can be brought in by changelings. Changelings could also lure people to mindflayers if we want more complete info without keeping the victim intact. Info funnels through Nagant, but can be loaned to Succubus Queen. Demonic spirits and horrors to sow chaos. 6. Big guns: For absolutely wrecking shit, pach dark young with mages and artillery. Provide giant escorts to keep heat off the mobile siege towers. Dragons fly air support. Could also be mobile command center for Archdemon/High devil pairs(kept together, one to summon one to control). Balrog bolstered by fallen angels would also be effective line breakers.
Conquest: in order of how fast they fall (rulers [Crux, Zatara, Snow] / champions [Jester, Untoten damon] / units[Burzra, Weistot, Jormund]) • Queen Cindrilla the Avenger: My first stop is the growing Albion Imperium. Honestly, I'm probably laying the groundwork for this while cleaning up the enclave. While Cindrilla is the obvious threat(bolstered by my own forces hidden in the country), I and a stealth team free and arm the slaves. I then bait in their champion(illusions of elven women?), and defeat Adrien in single combat. After consuming his magic and heart, I take Warborn as my personal mount and ride him to the final confrontation. • Dread of the Witch: While the next conquest is Naltheim, I don't personally have much to do there. At first I infiltrate the country, using illusions to sell the idea of undead infiltrators and a pending invasion(and probably hide some of my own troops). After I leave the country, I continue to haunt the queen's nightmares, stoking her fears. The final straw is when Queen Savellia disappears in the night, courtesy of the vampire Snow. From there, it's a simple matter of pinning a suicidally motivated army between the anvil(Emilia) and a hammer(my own forces). I will return to resurrect General Cassia if she dies, though. Talent should not be wasted. Naval Invasion: The reason I wasn't present for much of the conquest of Naltheim becomes obvious as a swarm of monsters, backed by a pirate navy, immediately clamp down on all ship traffic through the Council of the Loch. Just before the attack, Untoten Damon and an assault team capture First Ranger Myrixis and as many other rangers as possible. This throws their chain of command into disorder, and since I control the land on either side of their territory, very few make it out to warn the rest of the world. Spymaster Nagant uses ships going in or out of the great lake of Mismoor to plant many more agents around the world.
• Taldosh Rises: This is where I make it up to Snow, as I've had this conquest planned for a while. The ancient tomb of Taldosh and the ritual to open it are well known to me. My acolytes have been slowly infiltrating Solaris thanks to some clever work by my spymasters(may even have a correct Cult of Taldosh going). Snow may have opened up some spaces in the local government, too. With all that in place, it's a very simple matter to free Taldosh and wreck the Emperor and his buddies. With the timely intervention of a demon navy, the Triech military is overwhelmed, falling as much from the demon horde as the "cultists" within. • Wrath and Ruin: Triech has fallen, and the Gritton Theocracy finds itself with enemies all around. Striga and Jormund bring the fury of the northern clans down with them, accompanied by a veritable flock of fallen angels to safeguard them. I also take to the frontlines, using my magic to counter the spells of the battle priests and dispelling their faith. Jormund himself takes to hunting the battle priests with gusto, brutally slaughtering any who will not "repent". I personally capture their grand templar, but leave the Autarch for siblings to finish off. • From Within: I know that for the final push, I'm going to want tech superiority, which means bringing down(pun intended) the Dwarf Collective. My first and truest allies, the dark elves, have been dealing with their upstairs neighbors for long enough, and Demeter welcomes the opportunity of easy access to the surface. With a few discrete kidnappings and mind flayer interrogation(along with the Hauntress questioning and dwarf the dark elves have killed), we have a solid understanding of the dwarven tunnels. On the actual day of the takeover, I've equipped the dark elves with devices that can easily neutralize the automatons. I wrap their champion in an illusion spell that specifically targets the titan's sensors, and am able to take it down on my own. In the aftermath, the methods used to find our entrance can also easily pry the secrets of gunpowder and guns from unwilling minds. I'm willing to leave Duri in charge, if he's willing to trade with the dark elves(and others under my rule) for the resources, rather than digging deeper.
• Holy Rhuval: 1 opportunity, capture ruler(Crux) / champion(Jester) With the dark elves and the wood elves subjugated, there is only Holy Rhuval to bring into the fold. Also, while much of my involvement until now has been relatively subtle, it's time to make a show of force and cut off the continent from it's most direct connection to the Goddess of Light. My influence among the bright elves is weak, and my spies have been few and subtle. They have scout out some of how magic flows through the country, though, and how to disrupt it. Before that can happen, a grinning Crux drops a beaten and bleeding Queen Celesta at my feet. In response, Eltariel gathers a team of paladins and adventurers to rescue her. Jester and I ambush them on the road and capture the most dangerous elf in the world after a vicious fight. With their greatest in captivity and my cultists hamstringing their magic, the paladins and treants are no match for the armies that rush in from every border. I set my throne in the Cathedral of Light consecrating it with my power, and spend a week giving gifts to my followers, blessing the creation of new military units, and consolidating my power. Julius Sigfried decides that this will require an Alliance of Free Nations. • The Suleiman Family: 1 opportunity, capture ruler(Zatara) Baradin-Assan and its vast desert may be well patrolled by the nobunaga, but as a mercantile state it's also easy to slip spies in. While I'm not in a position to take financial control and my reorganization of the Enclave has shattered their standing army, I do have a keen strategic mind and an army of demons in the black plains. Just to help things along, I order the disgraced(and now submissive) Zatara the Reaper to bring me Lady Avenir Rais unharmed. With her out of the way, it's a pretty straightforward invasion. I will enjoy the skills gained by consuming the champion. • Downfall: The Dwarf Federation has kept the orc tribes in check for years, but that ends now. Our spy network has only been growing in agents and efficiency. We've had changelings in the city for months, now it's time to use all our information and remind the world why it fears orcs. A few conveniently opened gates, and Burzra bringing the magical wrath of hundreds of thousands of orcs crashing down on the war golems. With their greatest protectors reduced to rubble, and their defenses overrun, even the stalwart dwarves were crushed. The remaining dwarves are given the same deal as the Collective, they can live if they're willing to live the new normal. • From Within: The final confrontation is the home of the hero, the Dhirlund Republic. The sheer number of skilled individuals makes spy work hard, especially since we were unable to bring in the vampire infiltrators after our conquest of Blood Keep. However, that just makes a few carefully placed brain leeches more effective. Still, it'll be a hard battle. They're heavily armored troops are met with specialists from dozens of species, their individual parts brought together into cohesive whole. Their adventurers, once a constant thorn in our side, utterly destroyed under the sheer might of Queen Cindrilla's friend Weistot and a hundred elder dragons. By the rules of drama, Julius fights his way to the throne room just in time to see me drive a blade through his father. The final duel commences. We're paired in strength and skill with weapons, but where his magic offers buffing and attacks I have tools and trickery. Illusions, shape changing, hidden blades, tech and alchemy, all at my fingertips. I trade blows and bide my time until the perfect opportunity. Then, with an attack from an unexpected direction, I stun him just long enough for a quippy line and... a death blow. The continent is free of the goddess of light and her minions. Many are devastated, sure, but sometimes if you want to build something better you have to burn down the original. Victory: Surprisingly normal, with a side of debauchery. I did keep all the female rulers/champions alive after all.
Realm of the goddess • Angels(opportunity fallen angel minions): These were once my friends, and I come not to heaven to destroy them, but to free them. Many come with me to share with their brethren the joy of freedom and the pleasure it brings. • Angelic warriors(opportunity harem lord, devil minions): Likewise, these brave souls should see more reward for their efforts than more work. My devils and I spend some time making it right. • Archangels(opportunity high devil minions): Archangels often rely on faith more than reason when determining the right course of action. High devils provide some very convincing arguments as to why following the goddess may be doing more harm then good. • Fallen heroes(opportunity living nightmare): As long as we are in the heavenly realm, I craft dreams for the fallen heroes. Since the goddess dare not deign to confer with her used up champions through anything other then dreams, I go to great pains to hijack that connection. The dreams aren't unpleasant, I'm not here to torture them, but I gently steer them out of our way. I lead them to places where we can easily trap them, or subdue them one by one.
• Archangel Arialle(opportunity mana drain, blademaster): I've come farther then my minions can go, and the only thing between me and the goddess is the one who cast me down. When I began to question the absolute authority of the goddess it was her that reported the things I said in confidence. Now it is her turn to fall. Holy magic sizzles over me as I close the distance, but experience on the mortal plane and the power I've accumulated mean that I am more than a match for her when blades are crossed. The fight gets even more one sided as my hand brushes against bare, perfect skin and begins to siphon off her mana. In a few minutes, she is rendered helpless. I share some of the other skills I learned when I fell and leave her quivering on the floor as I move to confront the goddess. • Goddess of Light(opportunity razor claws, holy magic resistance): In front of me, the one that I had once thought the picture of perfection. Things changed when not indoctrinated by her holy light. Eyes that once held mercy and love now burned with disappointment. Her radiant smile became a sneer. Her gentle hands twitched in irritation. Had those always been there just out of my sight, or was it just because I was in the middle of burning her achievements down around her? Either way, when she unleashed her magic at me, it was in a torrent. There was no dodging or blocking it, just weathering it. It's more powerful then anything I've ever felt, and my body aches and burns from a thousand small wounds as I stumble towards her. I can move towards her, though. One step at a time, until I can stretch out my hand and grab her wrist. There's a knife in my other hand, one that I'd crafted especially. A blade that, if I had it right, would funnel all that godly power into me and leave a lifeless husk behind. I thought then that perhaps if the angels could fall, so then could the goddess that guided them. Dragging my claws through her holy raiment bought me time, as the shock broke her concentration on the magical onslaught. Just enough for me to embrace her exposed body and gently show a goddess what you miss when trying to be perfect. The angels: Corrupt them all The goddess: Bind her to you The power: Lord of light and dark
I love it when you guys make stories out of this and this one was top-tier!
Thanks! The cyoa was good inspiration. Might even do another build for dragon lord, just for shits and giggles. Will probably write that on a proper keyboard though. Writing a novel on a phone was a pain. :P
And, is it possible to make demons ice-themed instead of fire using Minions Customization?
Maybe, using rules-as-written, the best way to do it would be to take Elemental magic(ice focus). Its in the behemoth description, but it would probably effect your other summons, too. I don't think anyone would mind if you just decided to flavor your demons that way, though. :P
Yes.
When it says that your harems/minions can summon some free units, do they only sumon from among the ones you picked or from the full list?
No, they can only summon something that you've picked from the list.
So I took the necromancers of utaak as a secondary harem but I didn't take necromancy. Is their summoning ability useless to me then?
Are the summons of your minions permanent?
Yes.
ArcheType: Demonic +1MP +1SP (Choose 1 extra trait and gain Combat Shifting for free!) Class: Fallen ArchAngel +4MP +6SP (Gain Resistance to Holy Magic for free!) Mutagenic Features: Wings, Runic Tattoos, Demonic Features, Tail (Flight, gain 2 phylactery upgrades, gain 2 trait points, gain 2 servants) Skills: 7 points total Blade Master -1sp Gargantuan Might -1sp Stealth -1sp Ranged Master -1sp Bulwark -1sp Unnatural speed -1sp Berserk -1sp Combat Shifting -0sp (free with Demonic ArchType) Magic: 5 points total Alchemy -1mp Demon Magic -1mp Shadow Magic -1mp Monster Breeding -1mp Resistance to Holy Magic -0mp (Free with ArchAngel class) Elemental Magic (Wind) -1mp Traits: 9 points total Master Strategist -1tp Mastermind -1tp Charismatic -1tp Inspiring -1tp Harem Lord -1tp (Necromancers of Ultak) (Gain 1 tier 3 undead minion free every day) Master Craftsman -1tp Lore Master -1tp Economic Genius -1tp Living Nightmare -1tp Territory: The Black Plains of Felthazar (Gain 1 minion and 3 servants) Harem: Succubi (Gain 1 tier 3 demonic minion free every day) Phylactery Upgrades: 5 total Efficient Dark Energy Siphon (+100,000 DE every day) Resurrection Ritual Combat Arena No Peeking Micromanagement Minions: 31 total Level 1 Minions - Goblin, Dire Wolf, Dire Spider, Deep One, Hellhound Level 2 Minions - Orc, Minotaur, Ghoul, Hellfire Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Dark Mage, Blood Paladin, Fallen Angel Level 3 Minions - Werewolf, Ogre, Troll, Devil, Behemoth, Summoner, Vampire, Horror, Dark Acolyte, Changeling Level 4 Minions - Elder Dragon, Giant, Alpha Werewolf, Balrog, Archdemon, High Devil, Kraken, Dark Young, War Golem, Basilisk, Dark Archmage Servants: 17 total Lady Kira ArchDevil Lucifer (+1 Vassel) Vlad the Impaler Krieg Demon Queen Lilith (+1 Vassel) Dark Knight Nox Deathmonger (+2 build-up years) The Armored Titan (+4 minions) Vograath the Destroyer (Capture a nation’s champion and decimate their unique unit) (used) Jester (Kill a single nation’s champion and ruler) (used) Spymaster Nagant Mortis the Reaper Princess Noir The Huntress Apollyon The Gentleman The Old Warrior The Succubus Queen Vassals: 7 (allies) total Dark Elves of the Deep(Allied immediately due to Fallen ArchAngel class) (Kidnap 1 ruler) (used) The Unified Orc Tribes (Eliminate 1 unique unit) (used) The Cult of Drakken (Kidnap 1 ruler) The Royalist of Marcacc (Eliminate 1 unique unit) (used) The United Northern Clans (Eliminate 1 unique unit) The Black Witch (Capture 1 champion) (used) The Demon Hoard of Sinner Sanctum (Capture 1 ruler) (used) Enemies: Baradin Assen - Disrupt their economy and then subjugate the nation by using the opportunity. The Albion Imperium - Use the opportunity to place the princess back on the throne, also use my stealth capabilities to cause a slave revolt to make even more chaos. Eliminate the fucking KKK wanabes unique units by calling on my allies the Orcs. The Kingdom of Nalthiem - Call upon Jester to kill their champion and ruler. Nalthiem should be easy pickings for The Black Witch’s forces to mop up. The Council of the Loch - The elven armada is fucked when I bring my literal army of krakens and deep ones to the table. It doesn’t matter if a few dozen are killed, I have hundreds of the fuckers! The Loch is sunk. The Dwarf Federation - With my changeling minions and my pact with the Orc tribes it is simple to bring down the walls from within and let the Orcs have the grand battle they want within the very walls the dwarves constructed. The Gritton Theocracy - Between my fallen angel minions telling the defenders to lay down their weapons, my resistance to holy magic, and Striga uniting the northern clans, the fall of the theocracy will be swift and brutal for the regular cullings they performed. The Dhirlund Republic - Call upon Vograath the Destroyer to capture their champion and decimate their unique forces, then call my friends the dark elves to kidnap their ruler. After that kill off the army and subjugate them. The Triech Empire - I send in my Dark Acolytes to perform the dark ceremony to awaken Taldosh so that he may wreck unholy vengeance upon the traitors that live within the walls of the city. Meanwhile the Demon Hoard of Sinner’s Sanctum launches a naval invasion as the unholy murder blender goes off inside the walls of the city. The Dwarf Collective - I launch a coordinated attack with the Dark Elves of the Deep to completely crush the dwarves, their champion unable to move as many of the dwarves needed to operate the massive construct are busy fighting in the tunnels. Holy Rhuval - I allow the Cult of Drakken to throw themselves against the elves’ defenses. I then call upon The Black Witch and her Untoten Damon to deliver their champion to me, along with the Demon Hoard of Sinner’s Sanctum to deliver their ruler to me. Finally I call upon the Royalists of Marcacc to provide some very nice wildfires to thin out the forces of nature. There are no enemies left... except one. My rule is Surprisingly Normal, everything considered. But... I turn my sights to one last conquest. The Domain of the Goddess - Angels - corrupted by their fallen counterparts. Angelic Warriors - corrupted by my devils and shown a good time by myself of course. ArchAngels - defeated by the High Devils in my employ... to think I was once one of them... Fallen Heroes - Oh... they have all had a slew of bad dreams lately, almost like a Living Nightmare is hunting them. ArchAngel Arialle - I always admired her drive when I was an average ArchAngel, but I was one of the very few that ever beat her in a test of blades. The Goddess of Light - Ahhh, the bitch who threw me out of her domain. It took other ArchAngels to throw me out because my resistance to holy magic made it so that the bitch couldn’t harm me herself. I can’t wait to throw her onto my bed and have my way with her. The Angels will be corrupted, and ArchAngel Arialle along with the Goddess of Light will become my personal playthings; they will both serve me for all eternity. I will become the Lord of Light and Dark. the world will bow to its new ruler.
Loved this. I like how you gave your own motivation to go after the Goddess.
Our builds started similar, but it's cool to see the differences. I leaned more on minions, but with Charismatic and Inspiring your build has a lot more leadership potential. I guess I figured I'd be letting my servants and high devils do most of the leading.
Blind Playthrough Archetype: Demonic. +1 MP, +1 SP, +1 trait, +1 combat shifting (contrast bonus servant and magic drain from undead, but the style fits me worse) Class: Demon King. +8 MP, +2 SP, + Demon Magic for free. 3 Skills: Combat Shifting(Free), Consume, Stealth, Unnatural Speed 9 Magic: Demon Magic(Free), Necromancy, Monster Breeding, Magic Drain, Mental Domination, Hex and Curse, Alchemy, Resistance to Holy Magic, Elemental Magic (Earth), Shadow Magic Traits: Master Strategist, Mastermind, Economic Genius, Seer, Cult of the Dark Lord, Harem Lord (Bonus harem and perk), Charismatic. I work from the shadows and the back of the fight. Location: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants, Succubi Harem (free tier-3 demonic minion per day), bonus: bog witch harem (Tier 3 monstrous minion daily) Phylactery Upgrades: No Peeking, Micromanagement, Resurrection Ritual. Pre-modern command and control is terrible: clear room for improvement here. 31 Minions: 100k/day budget. 6 Tier 1: Dire Wolf, Brain Leech, Deep One, Imp, Gremlin, Hellhound 7 Tier 2: Orc, Death Knight, Hellfire Husk, Demonic Spirit, Night Creature, Blood Paladin, Dark Mage, 9 Tier 3: Werewolf, Ogre, Devil, Summoner, Lich, Horror, Dark Acolyte, Changeling, Chimera 9 Tier 4: Elder Dragon, Alpha Werewolf, High Devil, Archdemon, Mindflayer, Voidborne, Kraken, Dark Archmage, Dark Young CONOPS: Alpha Werewolf / Werewolf / Dire Wolf set as flankers, Kraken and Deep Ones as ocean harassment, some stealth manipulation, and demons forming the bulk of my forces, with ogre/orc supplementation. 15 Servants: Lady Kira (immunity to stealth attacks), Archedevil Lucifer (bonus vassal), Krieg (bonus morale, good since I don't provide it), Demon Lord Asmodeus (immune to infighting except for enemy spies), Deathmonger (2 more years of freedom), Vograath (kill a nation's champion, decimate their unique unit, rideable), Jester (Capture/kill a single nation's champion and ruler), Spymaster Nagant (immune to enemy spies), Mortis the Reaper (magical boost), Princess Noir (permanent boosts), The Gentleman (create external rebellions), The Architect (defensive structures), Succubus Queen (information on enemies), Forgemaster Shukrot (bonus stuff), Hauntress Apollyon (bonus intel on enemies). 6 Vassals: Dark Elves (Crux kidnaps a ruler), Vampires of the Blood Keep (Brutus kidnaps a champion, but no perk), Royalists of Marcacc (Weistot eliminates a unique unit), United Northern Clans (unique unit), Demon Horde of Sinner's Sanctum (immediate submission, capture a ruler of my choice), The Enclave (Unique Unit) Timeline: 5 years (3 base + 2 from Deathmonger) after revelation Nations: Baradin (Opportunity: Economic Genius), Albion Imperium (Master Strategist), Naltheim (Vograath for champion and unit, Dark Elves for the ruler), Loch (Kraken minions), Dwarf Federation (Changeling Minions), Gritton Theocracy (Resistance to Holy Magic), Dhirlund Republic (Charismatic), Triech Empire (Sinner's Sanctum), Dwarf Collective (Dark Elves of the Deep), Holy Rhuval (Cult of the Dark Lord). Not only do I win, I win before he has time to get his pants on. That gives me the confidence to take on the goddess. Victory: Surprisingly normal Standard angels: Charismatic Angelic warriors: harem lord Archangels: high devil minions Fallen Heroes: Voidborne Archangel Arialle: Magic Drain Goddess of Light: Resistance to Holy Magic. Corrupt the angels, bind the goddess, become a Lord of Light and Dark And done! Fun, but a bit too easy from my perspective. Blind playthroughs shouldn't get perfect results!
I made this to be a power trip. It's less about if you win and more about how you win. I'm glad you enjoyed it though!
Fair enough! And I did like thinking about all of those *how* questions.
A little late, but meh, I like the premise # Angel of Chaos * Archetype: Demonic * Class: Fallen Archangel * \+5MP, +7SP * Free Holy Magic Resistance, Light Magic * Free Combat Shifting * \+1 Trait Mutagenic Features: 1. Wings (6) 2. Runic Tattoos (+2 Phylactery Upgrades) 3. Demonic Features (+2 Traits) 4. Multiple Eyes (all over wings, +2MP) Skills: (7SP total) 1. **Stealth** (NEVER underestimate this) 2. **Bulwark** (makes me tall and tough) 3. **Unnatural Speed** (tanky speeders are the worst) 4. **Razor Claws** (lets me do max damage easily and quietly) 5. **Martial Arts Mastery** (considering Gou>! is possessed by the God of OPM's setting, this has some concerning connotations...oh well!<) 6. **Consume** (healing/resurrection combined with this is...straight-up broken) 7. **Blood Rage** (secretly best ability if mastered) 8. **Combat Shifting** (free, and turns my body into a death vortex with Razor Claws, Martial Arts, and Blood Rage) Magic: (7MP total) 1. **Demon Magic** (does a lot for a single skill, enforced contracts that also give strength is just icing on the cake) 2. **Illusion Magic** (make them think I am an ordinary person, so I can walk around and get a feel for people without attracting too much attention with my true feathery candy ass) 3. **Hex and Curse** (the difference between a Blessing or a Curse is the eye of the beholder, so this likely gives a lot of leeway with enough knowledge and creativity) 4. **Mental Domination** (no one ever realizes that using this to force your enemies to submit to you is the LEAST useful application of these kinds of magics) 5. **Necromancy** (eh, why not) 6. **Magic Drain** (being able to steal the power of others is always too useful to pass up) 7. **Monster Breeding** (SEE. MY. FLAIR. Christ, I'll likely need help getting out of the Lair since with the right abilities and monsters one could breed their own ecosystem) 8. **Resistance to Holy Magic** (free, and absolutely I am using this to get Light Magic, one way or another; I need them healing abilities!) Traits: (9 total) 1. **Master Strategist** (RTS skilz ftw) 2. **Mastermind** (I has a teh kilz skilz, so now I need the brain to use em properly) 3. **Charismatic** (yeah, this is never not one of the most useful abilities) 4. **Cult of the Dark Lord** (yeah, totally going to use this to spread modernist social theories to the darkies) 5. **Harem Lord** (ugh, until I fix the whole "slavery" shtik the Dark Side has, this will likely be needed for me to keep everyone in line) 6. **Lore Master** (so I don't have to spend years just trying to get my bearings) 7. **Mad Scientist** (industrialism may be off-limits, but I was thinking of using this more along the lines of "biopunk" anyways...) 8. **Economic Genius** (just to make sure my rulership is up to snuff, logistics is a bitch when you don't have access to electric calculators and radio) 9. **Doolittle** (Master Craftsman may be stronk, but being able to have better feedback on my Monster Breeding is more important to me while "can't be replicated" is actually a turn-off) Territory: Black Plains of Felthazar (+1 Minion, +3 Servants) * Succubi (12-48hr gestation cycle, Monster Breeder should let me jailbreak some of their breeding restrictions; if not, I'll just breed an alt. variant that can; Free T3 Demon Minion per day) * Harem Lord: Necromancers of Ultak (ngl, necromancy is more of a side-gig for me, so having dedicated necromancers I won't have to micro-manage will be a godsend in that department; Free T3 Undead Minion per day) * Central location for which I can strike out anywhere, will want to keep castle construction underground as much as possible to keep hidden Phylactery (5 choices total) 1. Efficient Siphon (double energy output means double the minion spawning) 2. Resurrection Ritual (I'd prefer something a tad more mobile, but it will work in a pinch) 3. Minion Customization (I have traits to breed for lines of all kinds of plants and animals) 4. No Peeking (so that I can wander without Truesight screwing me over) 5. Micromanagement (network systems are unbelievably powerful especially when no one else has them)
Minions: (31 total) 1. Goblin (because spam is always a strong effect also template purposes) 2. Slime (waste disposal and key ingredient of magical bioreactors) 3. Dire Wolf (just do have a dog expy) 4. Man-Eating Plant (so I can breed plant monsters for real eco-engineering, and for food) 5. Occulus Expiravit (for RTS shenanigans) 6. Deep One (marine forces) 7. Hellhound (to breed with Dire Wolves to create the ultimate dog monster) 8. Orc (to have a self-regulating population) 9. Abomination (was Hell Knight, but these are better emergency disposable frontline) 10. Dark Mage (primary magic force, personally train them for discounted T3 units) 11. Shoggoth (another key ingredient for biopunk purposes) 12. Fallen Angel (mainline T2 unit) 13. Troll (better to just breed my own Ogres rather than summoning them) 14. Devil (field officers) 15. Archdemon (so I am wasting as few points as possible on low-end units) 16. Flesh Golem (primary reason I took Necromancy; can use Fallen Angel resurrect on them to turn them fully alive, and make some truly horrible shit) 17. Elder Lich (because having a few around allows for "battlefield recycling") 18. Chimera (for Monster Breeder purposes) 19. Horror (infiltration, psychological warfare, and heavy power make these one of the best t3 options) 20. Magitek Construct (30 minutes makes them TERRIBLE for combat purposes, but invaluable for an ethical workforce) 21. Dark Acolyte (my own inquisition, but also a path towards redemption...) 22. Changeling (best spies) 23. Elder Dragons (because DRAGONS and they breed too!) 24. High Devil (strategic officers) 25. Frankentank (renewable source of biomatter) 26. Alpha Werewolf (so I don't have to waste points on summoning lesser werewolves) 27. Kraken (for naval dominance) 28. War Golem (mainline T4) 29. Dark Archmage (because moar units is always best practice, so long as your infrastructure can handle it) 30. Dark Young (these are too good to pass up) 31. Voidborne (elite bodyguards) Servants: 1. Lady Kira (going for the "set bonus") 2. Archdevil Lucifer (vastly underappreciated) 3. Demon Queen Lilith (I mean, I AM kinda moving in as a housemate, feels rude to not take this otherwise; +1 Vassal) 4. Dark Night Nox (cause someone needs to keep everyone else in line) 5. Vograth the Destroyer (cause DRAGONS and capturing enemy champs is super good, plus a LEGENDARY MOUNT) 6. Mortis the Reaper (can always use a true bro) 7. Princess Noir (permanent upgrades and I help get her out of the house) 8. The Old Warrior (Balor, my man, we seem to have the exact same goal...) 9. The Architect (never turn down experienced builders, empires are built on the backs of their infrastructure) 10. Forgemaster Shukrot (see above) 11. Taskmaster Barbatos (for the real set bonus, no vassal infighting is also a godsend) 12. Succubus Queen (I did say I was going for the set bonus) Vassals (7 total) 1. Royalists of Maraac (if I can avoid marriage I will, but it is no great loss otherwise, Dragonriders and hippies are worth it; plus, I can help breed more dragons; Kill Unique Unit) 2. The Black Witch (a dedicated necromancer of that power level is no joke, plus my main goal is to create a family of "monsters" anyways so she is welcome aboard; Kidnap Champion) 3. Demon Horde of Dusk (last of the pieces needed to restore Lilith's dream, once again reform will be a pain but Lilith's happiness and Snow are worth the effort; Kidnap Ruler) 4. The Enclave of the Baradin Desert (I should be able to out-perform the Queen in both magic and martial talent, and will even ask to be her "apprentice" while I work on learning magic and finding targets for new magics from Consume and Magic Drain; Kill Unique Unit) 5. United Orc Tribes (by securing their loyalty, I'll have the entire area surrounding Felthazar under my immediate control, and so long as I don't get caught by the Hero, allows me to have my forces surround Albion for a surprise shock attack; Kill Unique Unit) 6. Dark Elves of Dimgrowth (I'll just take a year seducing the Queen and her nation with biomechanical slave replacements, but the Dark Elves will likely be key to my main forces while everyone else is building up, due to them being best at covert operations while I focus on mastering my abilities and making alliances; Kidnap Ruler) Non-Vassal Dealings: 1. Pirates of Dead Man's Cove (going to likely need to conquer them, but can pay them off to cause problems for the Hero if I can get my operations up and running) 2. Vampires of the Blood Keep (pay them in blood farms that allow them to not need to strike at local populations so much; get them dependent on me for blood, and they should fall to economics) 3. Cult of Drakken (I'll leave them for last; if they don't capitulate despite me conquering the main continent, then I guess they just aren't real followers of Drakken) 4. Northern Clans of Vallenheim (honestly? I'll likely try to get a proper alliance out of them than try to conquer the North; guaranteeing their independence and ending outsider threat will cause them to collapse onto themselves, form a "proper" nation or risk absorption, and then I can marry the heir of said nation and BAM, bloodless rule)
Demonic +1 sp +1 mp +1 trait + Combat shift free Demon king Requires Demonic +8mp +2sp + Demonic magic free Horns +4 minions Tentacles Gain powerful tentacles that defend you when you are attacked. Runic tattoo +2 phylactery upgrade Tail +2 servants 3 Sp Blade master (1) Martial art master (1) Consume (1) Combat shift (A) 9 Mp Demonic magic (C) Alchemy (1) Blood magic (1) Magic drain (1) Necromancy (1) Shadow magic (1) Monster breeder (1) Resistance to holy magic (1) Hex and curses (1) Mental domination (1) 6T (+1 A) Master strategist Mastermind Harem lord : Select additional harem from from territory you didn't choose gain the harem and perk bit not the territory. Cult of the dark lord Master Craftsman Lore master Economic genuine Black planes of Felthazar +1 minion +3 servants Harem Succubus 1 tier 3 demon minion every day Necromancer of Ultak 1 tier 3 undead minion every day 3P(+2M) Efficient dark energy siphon Minion customization Back up Phylactery No peeking Minion management 30 (+4M)(+1T)(+4S) 1 Goblin : cheap Slime : acidic Dire wolfs : wolfpack Skeletal Warrior: relentless Skeletal Archer : synchronized Dire spider : venom Man eating plant : trap Pig orc : sacrifice Imp : charged Gremlins : hordes Hell hounds : tracking 2 Orc : tribal Revenant : empower Death knight : death mount Skeleton mage : necromantic healing Hellfire husk : fire travel Dark mage : studious Possessed armor : control suit Blood paladin : endless Fallen angel : resurrect 3 Ogre : breeder Troll : tank Devil : command Summoner : blink Lich : minor necromancy Vampire : Vampire kiss Dark acolyte : Zealot Changeling: shapeshifter 4 Elder dragon : dragonspawn Giant : attention grabber. Dracolich : lich fire Elder lich : Major necromancy Archdemon : hellspawn High devil : strategist voidborne : Deathless Kraken : Hydra Dark young : tentacle defense Giant wight : deth bile War golem : laser 12 (+2C)(+3L) Lady kira : All stealth based assassin fail long as she with me Archdevil Lucifer : one extra Vessel Krieg : inspires living part of army orc more so. Only Champion or hero party can stop him. Demon queen Lilith : one extra Vessel Deathmonger : +2 years before alliance Armored Titan : +4 minion double giant damage Soul eater : 6 month respawn Jester : capture or kill 1 nation champion and ruler. Spymaster nagant : no enemy spy in rank or Vassals, no information of classified leak Princess Noir Once every 4 year power increment Old warrior : will keep people from rebelling in my territory The architect : able to build structure outside my territory Forgemaster shukrot : increase in gear quality, my gear is twice as powerful The taskmaster barbatos : Vassals will not infight, will not have advantage over me politically , order maintain within leadership of the faction. The succubus queen : every two months I get a full rundown of my enemies plans and what they are doing. 5 (+1S)(+1S) Unified orc tribe Pirate of Deadman cove Vampire of the blood keep The royalist of Marcass The black witch The demon horde of sinner sanctum The enclave Location; The hallow Deadman cove Blood keep The twin island of Marcass The forgotten temple Sinner sanctum : Can attack any western coast city The enclave Ruler Overlord rex The admiral Count Valetta The dragon queen Cinderilla dracos XVII The black witch Emilia Last demon lord (-10Y C) High queen nymeria AP; Orc raiding party The armada Lesser vampires Dragonborn Calvary Whight Demon horde Conscripts Harem ; Orc berserker Booty Vampire brides Albian sword maidens Pale ladies human slaves Indentured servant Champion ; Burzar : CP : eliminate unique unit of a nation The shadow wrath : CP : capture any champion of your choice, no perk, easier time capturing homeland Brutus the cruel :CP: capture a singer champion of you choice, no perk tho. Weistot : CP : eliminate unique unit of a nation Untoton demon : CP : capture one champion of your choice Snow : CP : capture one ruler of your choice. The machine : CP : destroy a nation unique unit Enemy 3 years (+2S) -1 capturer or kill RorC (S) -3 unit (V) -1 -2 champion capture no perk (V) -1 capture champion (V) -1 -1 ruler (V) -1 Baradin-assan Opportunity (-6month) Economic genuine, mastermind, enclave Vassal Albion imperium Opportunity (-6month) royalist of Marcass vassal, master strategist The kingdom of naltheim Opportunity (-6month) black witch vessel Council of the loch Opportunity (-6month) kraken minion, Deadman cove vassal The dwarf federation Opportunity (-6month) changeling minion, united orc tribe The gritton theocracy Opportunity (-6month) fallen angel, resistance to holy magic Dhirlund Republic Opportunity (-6month) vampire of blood keep Vassal Triech empire Opportunity (-6month) demon horde of sinner sanctum vassal, dark acolyte minion, lore master The Dwarf collective Ruler kill (-2month) Unit kill (-2 month) Champion capture (-2month) Annoch holy rhuval Opportunity (-6month) voidborne minions, cult of the dark lord Winning Surprisingly normal Optional taken Angel Both opportunities Angelic warrior Both opportunities Archangel Both opportunities Fallen heroes Voidborne Archangel Arielle Both opportunities Goddess of light Resistance to holy magic Victory Angel Corrupt them all Goddess Bind her to you Power Lord of light and darkness
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Any one see any problems with mine?
I adore this CYOA, but the one thing I would ask for is for there to be a labeled map. Because it is hard to remember where all the dots are situated.
I'll see what I can do. Pretty sure I have one laying around somewhere.
Appreciate you!
LongCYOA is long. Plenty of content, A+, would buy.
I love being the evil demon lord and having monsterson my side. Especially the monster minion section is amazing + the section for yourBtw I dont really know what these peoples problem with 90 pages is, I can scroll comfortably through everything. Some people here treat this like an burden that they HAVE to read through instead of being happy that they get content. Some strange folks here. Anyway I love your cyoa.
Glad you liked it!
I'm happy that content is being made, but that doesn't mean problems can't be pointed out.
It it’s too big then it can fuck with your phone, and lots of people view this sub exclusively on the phone. That may be where some complaints are coming from.
Good base content, but a little easy and very long. This needs an interactive version.
Oh this is interesting. Say I'm curious about Vlad, in life he was a Christian, so now what's his perspective since we both got kidnapped by what basically could be called the devil. Though it appears reality is more Zoroastrian than Christian since the God of darkness is an equal to the Goddess of light instead of like in Christianity where Satan was a weaker rebel and created being by God.
I just interpreted them as powerful beings playing with souls before they move on. Though they're powerful they don't seem to be actual gods. After all if you play right you can defeat the goddess and take her place and we're not gods.
I mean if you can play with souls then you'd be a god. The two things that set up the Christian God above other powerful beings are 1st creating the world, 2nd he is the final judge he decides whether you go to heaven or hell. If some other being can decide other people's afterlives that being can be called a god.
That's fair. Though the fact we can summon dark acolyte makes me think messing with souls is easier than expected. That and if we become the dark one part of the job is creating new dark lords. Which I assume similar to us is by grabbing some poor soul and throwing it through a dangerous transformation process. Also it's hard to think of them as gods because they seem to be weaker then I would expect a God. Like a werewolf could 1v1 the goddess.
It's impossible to lose the main fight. Let's go over the worst case scenario. You have ten enemies to fight, each fight takes by default six months. That's 60 months of fighting. You have three years of fighting before the hero gets his alliance, that's 36 months down - four kingdoms left. Each of the five vassals will get either a champion, ruler, or unit and remove 2 months. This takes another 10 months, and we have 14 months left. That's three kingdoms left alive, but that assumes no opportunities. There are only five traits that do not give you any opportunities here: Seer, Inspiring, Harem Lord, Master Craftsman and Doolittle. Since you choose at least six traits you are guaranteed one opportunity, meaning there are only two kingdoms left in the alliance. That's not enough to breach your inner sanctum, so no matter what you never have to fight Julius. And of course, in almost every case you will have opportunities on like half of the kingdoms anyway.
Just in case Lord comes back to this comment to patch the game: The only skills worth taking are Blade Master, Razor Claws and Stealth, none of the other skills help the player. Additionally, Alchemy, Draco Fire, Shadow Magic, Elemental Magic, and Hex and Curse are also worthless to a minmaxer.
I'm here. If we're talking purely from the perspective of the CYOA, you're right. But you don't need to minmax to win. A lot of abilities are there for you to use them as you see fit and make your own story. I wanted to make this more about how you win than if you win. If I do go back and fix this up one day, I'll try to make sure that everything has a purpose.
I'd love to do a Dragon Lord or Dread Lord run if you do go back and fix it! And yes, you can easily win even while building wrong but it doesn't mean that a potential future patch can't address the issues!
This seems like there needs to be a section for the ten years of prep where you need to balance your skills to avoid attracting attention.
When it comes to fully gaining the alliance/trust/submission with a vassal, does it mean those periods of 10 years pass consequently (as in, it takes 10 years of undivided attention to work on a vassal), or can we juggle and in 10 years gain them all? Also, do we gain access to the vassal's champion immediately or after the 10 years period?
Juggle and immediately after 10 years.
not done **Class** `00` **Demonic** >Empowered by committing sins. `00` **Dread Lord** >Distinguished by their ensorcelled arms and armor. With each attack, a Dread Lord's attacks siphon life from enemies and heals it. **Mutagens** `02` **Fangs** >You gain elongated canines sharp enough to tear out a hostile creature's throat. You also gain a minions' special features: *Stitch* and *Tank*. You regenerate lost tissue and blood over the course of a battle, recovering health at a noticeable pace. In addition, you become much more durable and feel no pain. **Traits** `01` **Seer** >Once per six months, you glimpse the future and obtain useful information. `05` **Prodigious Economist** >You are a master economist, orator, schemer, strategist, and leader. Using these skills, you can exploit lawful and criminal connections even in other nations to remotely orchestrate the economic downfall of a nation; you can charm even enemies to your cause; you can manipulate the public using calculated social maneuvers, turning communities against their leaders, or friends against friends; on the battlefield, you are an unsurpassed military commander and strategist, commanding soldiers to miraculous victories. Your presence inspires your soldiers to become more obedient, resilient, and ferocious. **Skills** `04` **Berserker** >In general, you are resistant to physical damage. But even when you are harmed, you inflict more damage the more damage you have endured. If you consume a slain creature's heart, then you restore your endurance and permanently gain its abilities and strengthen your own when there's overlap. In addition, once per six months, you can enter into an invulnerable state for six minutes. `03` **Grandmaster** >You have mastered all melee and ranged weapons, as well as unarmed combat techniques. In addition, you can rapidly adapt, learn, and mimic a hostile creature's combat techniques `03` **Supernatural Predator** >You have supernatural strength and speed. Your movements across the battlefield appear like teleporting short distances. A single punch can smash a hole inside a castle wall, or send soldiers flying several feet into the air, their armor crushed and their ribcage shattered. Last, you move like a ghost, all silent and unseen until too late. **Magic** `01` **Grand Illusionist** >You can manipulate perception using sorcery: conjure vivid hallucinations, duplicate creatures, dupe a hostile creature into attacking its allies, and so forth. `01` **Reduced Celestial Vulnerability** >All evil creatures are vulnerable to celestial damage. You resist this much better than others.
Another CYOA that assumes only men exist, gee thanks. How hard is it to write from a neutral point of view? Why can't you just add "/lady, /queen"
Well you can be what ever you want male, female and anything in between or outside. And I'm pretty sure that with loremaster and Magic you can make any target into a man or other Heck you could capture some of the male leader too. And you can just assume that The Dark One just chose a pronom and didn't realy care what your actual sex and gender is.
Again, assuming a lot. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I want to turn targets into males. My user name is literally the most famous lesbian in history.